Jeremy Gates finds the living is easy – and cheap – in the French countryside of the Dordogne.

WHEN a chilled bottle of Bergerac Sec emerged from my cellar to wow hardened tipplers on a wintry day with its light, crisp and fruity flavour, I raised my glass to an intrepid French aviator called Roland Tatard.

After leaving the French air force and ending 20 years of flying Mirage jets in 1995, he was determined to show that vineyards around the city of Bergerac could produce wine to match the best of Bordeaux, even if those snooty near-neighbours had stolen a 100-year start.

His Clos le Joncal label is based in the village of Saint Julien d’Eymet, a sleepy corner of the Dordogne region of France – and he walked the vineyards with me, bemoaning hefty UK taxes which ensure that a bottle leaving his vineyard at 3.50 euros will retail close to £10 in Britain.

“Too much Bergerac wine is poor quality,” admitted Roland, which might explain why I put only three bottles of his stuff (total 13.5 euros) into my car boot.

Sacre bleu! I should have crammed the car after his wine-tasting session.

Our base nearby, for a laidback September week of sun and radiant blue skies, was Le Prince Noir, a gite on two acres on a gentle hillside overlooking the village of Fonroque, run by enterprising English couple, Gordon and Jane Barnes.

Since taking on a rundown business back in 2005, they have created rooms and apartments for up to 13 guests.

They reckoned that guests would only arrive in sufficient numbers if they found special interests groups through the French Connections website, which has collected 3,500 properties over a dozen years.

As cycling and vintage car enthusiasts themselves, Gordon and Jane cater for visitors with similar interests: they have 24 superbly-maintained bikes for hire, including silvery Cannondale tandems with a top speed of about 45mph. Cyclists love this area, where the Dordogne merges into an even quieter Lot et Garonne, because they can cover 40 miles a day without hitting serious hills.

Vintage car fans gather here too: Gordon’s selection of old classics includes a 1966 MGB Roadster, and a Renault 4 which guests can use for shopping or trips out. With Bergerac airport barely half an hour away, the passenger collection service is buzzing, too.

At Le Prince Noir, you can read paperbacks under the acacia trees, learn the art of boules, play table tennis or wander into the village for baguettes and delicious cakes.

Or you can tackle a range of leisure activities in the surrounding areas: canoeing, trout fishing, horse-riding, quad bikes and carting in Bergerac, plus several golf courses within an hour’s drive, are among many options.

To live really cheaply, head for the daily markets in the surrounding towns, which are stuffed with locally-produced fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses and other specialities.

We climbed a winding road into the castle-town of Duras, famous for its 12th Century chateau and views from its ramparts across miles of vineyards and orchards, and the occasional windmill.

Beyond Fonroque, we found more bargains in a new Champion supermarket.

Drinkable reds and whites cost barely two euros per bottle, and a cold meat and fish counter provided spectacular salads.

Of course, visitors love the Dordogne for its funereal pace. Roads are almost empty of traffic and historic villages like nearby Issigeac have halftimbered medieval buildings that look over streets closed to traffic decades ago.

Travel facts

Jeremy Gates was a guest of Le Prince Noir, which offers seven nights’ selfcatering (two sharing) from £300 from Easter, with peak weeks in August (seven sharing) from £800. Visitors can get discounted Brittany Ferries fares into St Malo, a seven-hour drive from Fonroque. Prices include winetasting/ vineyard tour with Roland Tatard. Le Prince Noir reservations: 0033-553-233-394 and frenchoasisholidays.com

The website Frenchconnections lists over 3,000 selfcatering/B&B properties in France.

Reservations are made direct with owners at frenchconnections.co.uk French Motorail has oneway Calais-Brive fares for a car and up to six passengers from £340 this summer. Motorail serves six destinations from Calais, Brive, Toulouse, Narbonne, Avignon, Frejus and Nice - from mid-May to mid-Sept.

Motorail reservations: 0844 848 4071 and raileurope.co. uk. Inntravel offers two nights’ half-board at L’Auberge de l’Abbaye in Normandy from £185, third night free (B&B), including Dover-Calais ferries for car and passengers.

Inntravel reservations: 01653-617906 and inntravel.co.uk