Les Deux Crus

Gourmet diners in the village of Ancenis-Saint-Géréon know that you’ll get good things to eat and drink at Quentin Loro’s place, who used to work at La Cave des Papilles in Paris, before transforming a former PMU sports betting bar into a festive wine and cheese shop (teal storefront, patterned cement tiles, industrial lighting). It’s the perfect spot to get your hands on a Jersey cow’s milk tomme cheese from La Ferme des Coquelicots with lovely notes of hay, or an incredibly delicious bleu du Vercors…  Stinky farm-fresh cheeses that pair perfectly with the house’s wines: D’Est en Ouest, a melon from the neighboring winemaker Jacques Février (€15.20), Dessous de Table, a saline Alsatian auxerrois from Catherine Riss (€17), Glou, an Ardèche gamay with some bite to it from La Ferme des Sept Lunes (€17.80)… all of which can be opened up in house in exchange for an €8 corkage fee, in addition to the bottle price. But grabbing a seat at one of the bistro tables is also a good idea at lunchtime, for the fare made with local, organic vegetables (peas, burrata and pesto; caponata, soft-boiled egg and coppa…), not to mention the classic cheese and charcuterie boards – which get gobbled up with some excellent sourdough bread from the nearby bakery. // Larosé

THE BULLET-PROOF BOTTLE: The elegant and vibrant Hautes Côtes Nature 2020, a Hautes-Côtes-de-Beaune pinot noir vinified by Morgane Seuillot (€43) of the Domaine Dandelion.