Hot Days in the South of France

Is there anything more romantic sounding than heading for a holiday in the south of France? Images of lavender and sunflower fields, tiny stone villages hugging hillsides looking down on great vineyards.

That is exactly what it is like and if you get the chance you should absolutely grab a few friends, rent a house or a chateau, and enjoy this amazing region. I was very lucky to go for the third time this summer and since I've visited a few of the regions' picturesque towns in the past, I was looking forward to just soaking up the sun and catching up with friends.

I flew into Paris CDG, upgrading to Delta's Economy Comfort section which was good for the money but not great, and caught the TGV train right from the airport to Avignon. It couldn't have been easier. Friends Nicola and Luke had generously invited me to come and join the fun at the house they had rented for the month of August when they heard I'd be visiting Forest in Paris.

Forest and Thibault picked me up from the station and we drove the short distance to Villeneuve les Avignon. I hadn't even really asked where the house was and it was funny to see that it was just outside the small town that we had lunch in the last time we were down there. Also staying at the house were Clidhna and Declan who I had heard about for years but somehow always seemed to miss them while in Paris.

It was hot as blazes and as soon as I was given a tour of the crazy house we'd all be sharing, lunch was served with chilled rose on the back patio. This was the first of a week of meals outside and it was fabulous.

I had planned to eat lunch and then take a nap to make up for the lack of sleep on the plane but one glass of rose turned into two and the cool pool was a stronger lure than the bed. That night we grilled hamburgers for dinner. In the south of France. Funny!

The rest of the week was spent very much like that first afternoon. I'd sleep in and get up to 90+F degree weather and immediately put on a swimsuit. Make some tea, have a croissant from the bakery down the street and then dive in the cool clean pool. We'd all lounge around while the cicadas made quite a din. There were races in the pool, diving contests and many trashy magazine swaps. We'd make a little salad for lunch, break out the rosie wine and return to the pool.

In the evenings Forest would make cocktails and we'd have them with an assortment of delicious cheeses and saucisson sec, the boys would fire up the grill or Nic would roast a chicken, Clidhna would put together a fabulous tomato salad and then we'd all stay up much too late chatting, drinking and sometimes singing with Dec acting as DJ (turns out the Irish love a good duet!).

I think in the week at the house I left it 4 times. Once, I walked to the grocery store for more wine. It was across the street. Another time Luke dropped Forest, Thibault and I off in the town center of Villeneuve les Avignons to enjoy a bottle of wine at a really good little olive oil producer, while he took the kids to a playground.

On my second day in town Nic had planned a girl's wine lunch in Chateaneuf du Pape at Chateau des Fines Roche. Declan was a gem and drove us giggly girls, which was about a 30 minute ride thru crazy, twisty, turny, tiny roads in Luke's car which drives on the wrong side! The chateau had an incredible terrace with stunning views of the surrounding vineyards and far off in the distance, Avignon.

We spent the next four hours tasting thru a few bottles of the regions best. The lunch was good but the wine was fantastic. We started with a pretty blanc and then moved onto the reds, the manager actually asked me who was driving as I ordered the 5th bottle. When I explained that we had a "driver" coming he was all too happy to grab another bottle from the cellar, the lunch service long over.

Dec arrived with Naoise and after a dish of icecream for the tot we made our way back to the house, now even more giggly with wine! If ever there was a perfect afternoon...

And the last time I left the house was the end of our time in the south. Forest, Thibault, Nic and I went for a lovely lunch on the banks of the Rhone River before 3 of us headed back to Paris. Thibault picked a great restaurant with a fantastic terrace and wonderful views of the partial bridge and the river. Le Bercait has a very traditional menu with all the southern flavors such as tapanade, ratatouille, artichokes, etc. It was the perfect ending to an incredibly relaxing and fun week.

Thanks to my friends for their generosity!! Until the next time!

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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wine tasting around the Rhone

There is so much wine in the Rhone valley it is hard to decide where to start drinking, I mean tasting! Lucky for us we were with others who also were interested in some serious tasting so we got to explore the varietals and wine growing area.

The French love their wine as you know, look how civilized it is to have a glass on the train- in little glasses sealed with foil! And it wasn't the swill that you get on American flights!


But of course there is cheap wine in France also, and you can find barrels of it at the local Carrefour!

But we were there to taste amazing Rhone wines and so that is what we did! One day we spent the afternoon at the co-op just on the way of Beaumes-des-Venise, a charming tiny town that literally looks like it has sprouted out of the side of a hill. The co-op was great as you could taste from different producers with many different styles. There were pages of wines available so we all just picked a few and then shared tastes. The prices were amazing and many very nice $11 bottles found their way back to the chateau for us to enjoy with our dinner. A few dessert wines even found their way back home to Seattle!

The next day we all made our way to Chateau de Beaucastel, you'd be hard pressed to find 7 more excited wine enthusiasts! The grounds are small and quite ordinary but the wines are anything but. And the terroir here is very different with large river rocks scattered about holding in the water and making the vines very strong.



We were incredibly lucky as the gentleman who normally gives the tours and tastings had to go meet with the negotiant so we were with Marc Perrin whose family owns Beaucastel!

I can really go on and on about the amazing wine, winemaker pride and gorgeous house and cellars here. It was such a treat to see and taste it all!

After a bite to eat in Chateauneuf du Pape (another charming hilly town) we all headed into Cave du Verger for some more tastings. This is basically a wine shop that specializes in the wines of CdP and also does tastings. We had a fabulous time with Jean Baptiste who had us taste some very amazing wines, most completely unavailable in the states as the quantities made are quite small. And then there was a test! We didn't pass but we had a great time trying to name the fruits as we smelled them in order in one last glass of wine.

You might think that we would be a bit tired of tasting after all that but we weren't! Our friend Abra was nice enough to arrange a tasting at a small family run winery just north of CdP called Chateau Montfaucon.

The wine here is so good and the staff was over the top nice. As we bought some to take home there seemed to be extra bottles of wine being handed to us. "un cadeau", a gift. And that is exactly how we felt about our week of wine tasting- what a gift!

Well we might also have felt a bit fuzzy!

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