Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Our goal today was the Chateauneuf-du-Pape Spring Wine Festival.  We drove up toward and around Avignon then northeast to the town of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  As soon as we passed Avignon, the environment changed from urban and suburban sites to vineyards on rolling hills as far as we could see.  Our arrival was a bit early for wine tasting, about 10:15, so we strolled through the town. Clay looked at all of the many wine shops and I found two gift/clothing shops.  Allan and I found and bought a furry ceramic chicken, but Clay did not buy any wine.  We sat for a few minutes in a small cafe and had espresso and cafe au lait and began meandering down the hill toward the festival.   The festival was in a school gymnasium and filled with people, vintners, wine, and one very beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback.  About 80 domaines from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC  were represented.  According to Wikipedia…An appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC)  or “controlled designation of origin” is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut national des appellations d’origine, now called Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO). It is based on the concept of terroir.”  And terroir is, very simply, the site-specific natural climate and soils.  For instance, stress is good for the wine and in Chateauneuf-du-Pape the soil is very rocky causing deep roots that absorb minerals and other nutrients.  The rocks also control the amount of water the plant receives and heat the roots when the sun beats down on them.  It is against the rules of the bureau to alter the terroir of an AOC which typically means that herbicidal and insecticidal chemicals are forbidden.

Back to the Festival…For ten euros each we received an entry ticket and a wine glass for tasting.  We tasted as many wines as we could manage for about 2 1/2 hours, purchased a total of five bottles among us, and decided to take a break and have lunch.  We hiked downhill to the car to put away our purchases and warm clothes and right back up again to lunch at La Mule de Pape.  After the long lunch we decided we had had enough wine tasting and climbed back in the car, entered the address for Clos du Cailliou into our trusty GPS and set out again, right through the middle of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC on some VERY narrow roads.  What a view–vineyards on either side of the road, an occasional farmhouse, a few trees, Mount Ventoux and the Luberon mountains in the distance.

We had been to Clos du Cailliou on our last trip to Provence and we recognized it immediately.  It is one of Clay’s favorite wineries and he was ready to purchase some wine.  He spent a lot of time developing a method of communication between him and the lady working at the winery–she spoke no English and he spoke no French!  We ultimately tasted several excellent wines but Clay decided to order wine by phone at some later date.

On the way back to St. Remy, we took more photos of vineyards and the new leaves on the vines–the vines are heavily pruned in early spring according to the rules of the AOC. Another beautiful and enjoyable day in Provence.

Nancy