HONEYED LANDSCAPESIN FLAVIGNAC

Meeting with Bruno, at Miellerie Paysages de Miels

A native of the region, Bruno and his family hail from Aixe-sur-Vienne and the surrounding area. So it’s no innocent choice to have settled in the verdant, natural surroundings of Flavignac, 20 years ago now. Bruno is also passionate about the world around us, and since his teenage years has had a keen interest in naturalist and ornithological activities (birdwatching, inventories). An amateur beekeeper since 2011, Bruno also teaches history and geography part-time at Collège Louise Michel in Saint-Junien. He trained in physical geography and biogeography before spending a year observing and inventorying wildlife in the Kerguelen Islands.

Bruno Labidoire

Beekeeper.

Growing gradually

In the early days, there was just one, but today there are no fewer than 200 hives, including 140 in production, on Bruno’s farm. Little by little, he collected equipment from retiring beekeepers and began trapping swarms in the heart of the forest, in order to increase his stock. Today, he multiplies his hives by creating swarms and breeding queens. The majority of his hives are located within a 30-kilometer radius of his honey house, while others can be found on the Plateau de Millevaches, in the Brive basin or on the Causse Corrézien, on the Lot border.

Taste landscapes

Bruno’s aim is to offer honeys linked to a landscape, a territory, a terroir, so the apiaries are fixed. These honeys are made from a wide range of wild flowers and are produced using organic methods. As a result, you’ll find 5 honeys on display with varied, flowery flavors, offering real landscape units.

Worth knowing:

Miel des Feuillardiers: a honey with a flowery flavor and fruity notes, dominated by brambles.
Miel du Val de Vienne: a flowery, fruity, slightly acidic honey, with a dominant chestnut flavor.
Miel du Pays de Brive: a honey with a fruity, fresh-fruit flavor, dominated by acacia.
Miel de Montagne Limousine: a honey with a woody, malty flavor, dominated by borage and heather.
Miel du Causse Corrézien: a honey with a fruity, cooked-fruit flavor, dominated by dogwood, maple and lime blossom.

Finally, a sixth honey is produced in certain years when conditions permit: buckwheat honey, the only monofloral honey.

Miellerie Paysages de Miel, in Flavignac

Produits Locaux Du Limousin En Circuits Courts Avec La Miellerie Paysages De Miel A Flavignac Benoit Mauger

By-products and local flavours

Bruno sells honey, but not only! He also makes delicious nougat and sweets with it, and resells mead produced in Périgord. There’s also bee bread (pollen stored for a minimum of 3 weeks in the hives, which has undergone lactic fermentation and is rich in protein) and propolis (a resin harvested by bees from tree buds, used to sanitize the hives and protect them from external viruses). When dissolved in alcohol, this element produces a strong, good foodstuff to protect against winter viruses. It boosts the beneficial effects of honey.

The fascinating world of bees

Every year, our forager friends go through the same cycle. The season starts at the end of March, when the fine weather arrives and temperatures sometimes approach 25°C on sunny days. This is the time for Bruno to check the health of the hives, and enlarge them if necessary. This is the period when the queens intensify their egg-laying and the workers consume a lot of food to feed their larvae. He supports the development of swarms, raises new queens and anticipates the future, particularly mortality. A bee lives for an average of 1 month during peak production periods, and up to 6 months from autumn to spring (they are better nourished, forage less and work much less). From May onwards, the bees lay their honey supers, the so-called “honey loft” for production. The honey is collected from the first days of August. Once at the honey house, the cappings are cut from the frames, and the honey is extracted by hand and matured in large vats. Then, in September, it’s time to treat the hives quickly to limit the presence of varroa mites, a destructive mite that feeds on fatty substances and transmits many viruses. Finally, from autumn to spring, it’s time for Bruno to check that the bees have enough food to get through the winter, and to close the hives completely to protect them from low temperatures and parasitic intrusion (mice, etc.).

Bruno's favorite

Having fallen in love with nature as a teenager, Bruno takes us into the mysterious forests of Les Cars and Lastours, and invites us to continue our discovery as far as the Pierre Pointue at Bussière-Galant. A magical place to discover at sunrise, when the sky is clear and you can see the Dordogne on one side and the Haute-Vienne on the other, all the way to the Puy de Dôme and the Cantal massif, provided you have a telescope. Don’t miss this view of all that nature has to offer!