Toques et Clochers is an annual two-day charitable
gastronomy festival in
Aude
Aude (; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Ca ...
,
France dedicated to the celebration of
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
production in the
Limoux wine appellation, sponsored by the
Sieur d'Arques
Sieur d'Arques is a wine producer cooperative located in Limoux in the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France. It produces the Red Bicyclette brand of wine, marketed in the United States by E & J Gallo Winery.
In 2012, Pierre Mirc retired as chair ...
wine cooperative.
The festival has taken place each year since 1991 during the weekend of
Palm Sunday in the area of
Limoux and
Saint-Hilaire. Each year a different village in the appellation is chosen to host the festival and the money raised is used to restore the church in that village. On the first day of the festival, the host village holds a celebration for the public, including wine-tasting, art exhibitions and music.
On the second day, the Sieur d'Arques cooperative hosts an auction of local wines and a gala dinner. The wine auction is presided over by Michelin starred chefs who also create the gala dinner, while an award-winning
sommelier selects the wines.
[''Le limouxin'', a newspaper published in Limoux, n°3273, 21 March 2008]
In 2008, the auction of wines raised 537,750 euros.
The event's name refers to the tall hats worn by chefs (
toques) and
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
s or
steeples (clochers), since the money raised from the auctions is given to churches to restore their belltowers.
In 2018, the first day of the festival, due to be held in the village of
Loupia
Loupia (; oc, Lopian) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Aude department
The following is a list of the 433 communes of the Aude department of France.
The communes cooperate i ...
, was cancelled as a mark of respect to those killed a day earlier in an Islamist terror attack in nearby
Trebes and Carcassonne.
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.toquesetclochers.fr
Food and drink festivals in France
Festivals in France
Wine-related events
Aude
Wine festivals