Wine Regions of the Cotes de Rhone

Monday 26^th August

An early start today as we headed off to Chateneauneuf-de-Papes, a renowned wine town in the Cotes De Rhone. In May when we stayed in Daylesford and dined at The Lake House, the lovely French waitress there, who hails from Provence, recommended that we visit Chateneauneuf-De Papes. It was high on our list. Chateneauneuf-de-Papes was established in the 1200-1300s as a summer palace for the Pope. The actual palace is now a ruin, but the wine industry that began way back then is flourishing. The area is very interesting. The soil is very red and rocky and the rocks retain the heat and force the vines to struggle resulting in a lean grape, lousy for eating but ideal for producing “big wines”. Eight different grapes are blended to make the local speciality, strictly controlled, and grenache is the most prominent grape in the blend. The Pope’s crest is embossed on all bottles of this wine. Chateneauneuf-de-Papes is a pretty town and we wandered around for an hour or so.

Along the way stopped in a little town, whose market was finishing up. Fortunately there were a couple of stalls still open. Michael and Karol bought some ham, and we bought some potato fritters and got all that was left for a bargain so the owners could go home and some fruit. We stopped at some tables and chairs beside a river and had a lovely picnic.

We then headed off for Beaumes de Venise, a town renowned for its Muscat. We are all suffering from different stages of a cold, coughing, sneezing, feeling BLAHHH! So Michael had a snooze in the car while Karol, Dick and I had a bit of a wander. The town has winding streets set within the ancient town walls, several fountains (of non potable water) and a mix of medieval and more recent buildings. As we were strolling along a woman asked, In French, “Which country?” and Karol replied, “Australia” and the woman told us she had a cousin in Sydney who worked in a restaurant and wanted her to come to Australia to cook French food. But she told us she was happy enough working in an old people’s home and will start picking grapes in a couple of weeks. She then said, “Attendre” went indoors and came back with a large bunch of delicious grapes and told us where to go to get the best views in the town.

Off we went and found the ancient city walls and scrambled up the rocky walls as well as a track beyond. The woman was right – the views were fabulous!

When we returned to the car, Michael and Dick bought a bottle of Muscat. We meandered and Michael drove us back to St Remy, through the picturesque Provencal countryside.

We have eaten out every night we have been in France (and everywhere else) and have been eating quite late, and not sleeping very well. Dick and I suggested that we eat in tonight, perhaps picking up a roast chicken and just staying at the hotel. On our return to the hotel Dick and I walked to a large supermarket in St Remy and picked up a roast chicken, several tasty salads, a bottle of the local Rose and some petit fours and chocolate mousse cake for dessert. This was supermarket shopping that was enjoyable. The quality of the food and the wine was excellent!

Our hotel has a lovely courtyard and Gazebo, so we sat outside and enjoyed a very relaxed meal. It probably helped that our aperitifs were Absinthe (from Prague) and the potato fritters from the market, and our great buys from the supermarket, finishing off with the Muscat from Beames de Venise.

We toddled off to our rooms, wondering what fabulous things are in store for tomorrow.