Route des Vins

Yesterday, we went to the Tourist Office in Valréas to talk to Muriel, a good friend of our host. Not only did she provide us with a map and route, but she gave us the names of domaines to visit and wines to try. We began with a stop at the Cave Coopérative le Cellier des Templiers in Richerenches where she also had an exposition of her photography. We enjoyed a taste of crisp, white wine while admiring her art. From there we ventured south to the small village of Visan for a dégustation at the the domaine AnVis. It was a modern, beautiful building with a long bar for wine tasting. We began with a rosé that we subsequently purchased and then tried the 2004 Cuvée du Marot which she had recommended. It was very good too so we purchased a magnum that we drank with dinner. Some of the other patrons were locals that came to fill their personal containers at a very reasonable price.

Our next stop was the beautiful village of Cairanne which was also home to some botanical gardens. Before walking up the hill, we stopped for "smoko".

On the way up, we passed by this lavender bush in bloom. Most of the lavender in the fields still needs time to mature, but I am sure the countryside will be awash in purple in a few months. 

There were poppies, irises, gaillardia, hyacinth, tulips and daffodils blooming.

This was a picture of the countryside from the top of the village by the church.

Behind the gardens was this beautiful old home with a clock and bell tower previously owned by an historian.

Once back in the car, we continued south toward Gigondas. All of a sudden, Keith stopped the car and pulled over to the side of the road. Overhead there were 8 jets performing manouevers much like our Snowbirds. The underbelly of the planes was red, white and blue and periodically there would be jets of white, blue or red smoke emanating from the rear. We enjoyed our personal "air show" for a good 15 minutes or so while they changed formations and performed loops de loops in the air over the vineyards and lavender fields. When we got back to the house we searched the Internet to find out more about these jets. They are known as the Patrouille de France, a demonstration aerobatic team and part of the French Air Force established in 1931. It was one of those "bon moments". 

Before we left, Greg insisted we take his picture and add the caption "I heard it through the grapevine" - cute!

As I mentioned, we were on our way to Gigondas before stopping for the air show. Below is one of the charming streets in the village...

... and an old water fountain.

When I was in my late teens, I would often have Sunday dinner with my dear friends, the Metcalfes. The meal usually included a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Nowadays, that wine is not readily accessible to most of us because of the price. However, because we were so close, I really wanted to see what remained of the Château and visit the village. The Château has definitely seen better days, but it was interesting to walk about the ruins.

Just down the hill from the Château, there was a cave featuring the wines. The proprietor was engaged with some other patrons so we just had a look around. Even the prices here were out of our league especially when you consider there are so many great French wines that are very well priced.

It was time to start heading home. We returned via Ste-Cécile-Les-Vignes, a village we had visited previously. We wanted to purchase another bottle of 2010 Les Deux Chapelles from Chantecôtes that we had so enjoyed. There was an interesting small boucherie down a back street and we bought some saucisse (fresh sausages) for dinner and some saucisson (dried sausage) for snacks. Below is a photo of the fountain in the town centre.

Our final stop of the day was the Château de Suze-La-Rousse/ Université de vin. It was built between the 12th and 15th centuries and was inhabited by the La Baum-Suze families until 1958. When the last last heir died, the property was acquired by the General Council of La Drôme. In 1978, the University of Wine was opened. Students from around the world come to learn about oenology, marketing and managing of the wine industry. There are even 3 day week-end courses for tourists.

The museum opened in 2013.  We paid a nominal entrance fee to enter the courtyard and explore the rooms on the second floor. Each room had information on the varieties of grapes, the tools and vessels used, the production process etc. At the end, we had a chance to guess the aromas often associated with wine. My friend Eleise would have done much better than me! 

As with all our days in Provence so far, it was memorable!