RIVING INTO THE TOWN of Sancerre from Burgundy’s Beaune region can be a bit of a headache. After four hours, two traffic diversions and a traffic jam, we arrived in the quaint town of Sancerre. By this time the last thing we wanted was to drive down miniscule two-way traffic streets, facing ongoing mammoth trucks in our small rental Opel but the sweet smell of fermenting grapes permeating the air kept us going.
   We did eventually find our hotel and once checked in, we took to the streets. The small hill-perched town of Sancerre comprises inns, cafés, bars, restaurants and bakeries. Just off the compact main square there is a stunning viewpoint where you can scan the region’s undulating slopes sprouting first-class sauvignon blanc vines. The town makes for a nice enough home base and even holds a bunch of wineries where you may stop by for a dégustation or two.
   Depending on how you want to experience this popular wine region of France, you may want to get away, as we did, from obnoxious groups of visiting tourists in the square by taking a short five-minute drive into Chavignol, home to some of the greatest white Sancerre wines and the Crottin de Chavignol cheese. We were lucky: it was a beautiful September day, the skies were blue and the sun enveloped us in gentle warmth. The sun had not been so kind a month prior to our arrival and needless to say the brutally hot days of Europe’s past summer made the 2003 harvest a particularly unusual one.
   We had an appointment with winemaker Jean-Paul Labaille, who had in fact just finished harvesting his grapes a half an hour before we met him, but before that we headed next door on an idyllic gravel country path paved with green grass and wild flowers to buy some honey from local beekeeper, M. Philippe Leprêtre.
   We were met by a cheerful and unpretentious man wearing a rugged stubble. The wine buyer at Manhattan store, Astor Wines and Spirits, had sent us there to collect some honey in return for his help in setting up appointments with some of France’s best winemakers. We were clearly expected: at first sight he knew that we were ‘les Americains’ and we were promptly led to his garage, a curious place packed with trinkets and bizarre objects. Focusing on the small table of honey wasn’t easy, though we did manage to tunnel our attention at the first taste of a deliciously earthy, floral and sweet printemps honey. Philippe Leprêtre is one of those quintessentially French-looking countrymen that may well have had some amusing stories to tell for this article; unfortunately the language barrier was a problem. After much gesticulating and shrugging of shoulders we bid the honey man goodbye and made our way right next door to meet Jean-Paul Labaille.

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Just off the main square of the hill-perched town of Sancerre is a stunning viewpoint where you can scan the region’s undulating slopes sprouting first-class sauvignon blanc vines

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Undulating curves of Sancerre's hills. ABOVE: A Sancerre hilltop. BELOW LEFT: Sauvignon blanc grapes from Jean-Paul's 2003 harvest.