A do-it yourself wine tour is the perfect way to discover the vineyards and wines of Provence.
I am lucky - I am surrounded by
picturesque vineyards with an array of wine caves, so I willingly take my
guests, happy to translate, to taste, to indulge and to buy.
One of my favorite
stops is the Château Sainte Roseline, a Côte de Provence winery; wine, art and
history all in one place. They’ve been cultivating vines in this prestigious
domaine situated in the Var region of Provence since the 14th
century: today it is big, well organized with at least 90 hectares of vineyard
producing around 400,000 bottles of excellent red, white and rosé wine every
year: This is Rosé country but Sainte Roseline still produces 35% red wine
every year; rosé 55% and 10% white.
Here’s one thing they
do differently at Saint Roseline -- night harvesting which
they say controls oxidation of the 11 different varieties of grapes cultivated
on the clay- limestone soils. Sainte Roseline is also one of the richest
historic sites of Provence, one of the first vineyards of Provence. But many
come here for another reason - to visit the 12th century chapel
where the body of Sainte Roseline lays, a saint known for her generosity and
spiritual works.
Wine Cooperatives
Down the road is a less
sophisticated wine outlet, a cooperative vinery. It is
important to grasp the spirit of my local wine cooperative which is less posh,
less expensive but where you can get some really good wine. This is where I regularly buy my five-liter ‘bag in the
box Côtes de Provence’ obtained with grapes from smaller growers who work
together in a well managed quality controlled cooperative.
My Côtes de Provence
comes with the Appellation d'Origine label (AOC) – the French certification
showing that my wine is authentic, of good quality, and comes from Provence,
the largest zone in the region. The geographic characteristics of a place will
shape and influence the quality of wine made from the grape – the French call
this "terroir" – so my rosé wine from the Côte de Provence will have
the unique quality specific only to the Côte de Provence.
We
are lucky here to have grenache,
cinsault, syrah, and cabernet sauvignon, the main varieties of grapes , all thriving beautifully in
abundant sunshine, growing amid the exceptional climate and soils of Provence.
Colour,
fragrance and aromas may be different at these two caves but
if you first like the wine, then it’s the pleasure and company that counts.
And as Earnest Hemmingway said:
“Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.”
