Saint Remy de Provence and Around: Chateauneuf du Pape wine and more....

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Chateauneuf du Pape wine and more....

Chateauneuf du Pape is the king of the wine in our region.

When one want to discover Chateauneuf du Pape, you better prepare your day ahead.
With more than 300 estates to choose from, tricky to decide which you'll want to go to.

In order to prepare yourself, here are a few tips :
- Don't miss out the White Chateauneuf (around 5% of the production which we keep for ourselves and don't export)
- Check opening time and don't go on Sunday
- There is not ONE type of red chateauneuf but many. Many rules applies to the appelation but one can use any of the 13 allowed grapes in their wine. As for vinification, 3 types are used, the traditionnal, the contemporary and the modern.
- For more details on the terroir and the wine, visit Musée du vin Maison Brotte
- A walking trail is arranged by the Tourist Office near the Place de la Renaissance Car park
- You'll get to know all about the different types of Grapes by the castle (plot with explanation on all grapes)
- For yummy tommy, visit Chocolaterie Castelain

Should you want to taste different types of wine, you better visit several estates or stick to one of the shop in town like Vinadea located in the town centre.

On of my favourite estate is Chateau La Nerthe but many other are fantastic.
The visit of Chateau La Nerthe (12€ incl tasting, reservation advisable) takes you through its 16th C cellars which are amongst the oldest in town.

I also recommend visiting Alain Jaume Domaine du Grand Veneur where you can taste their Chateauneuf and many other appelation they produce.
The winery is one of the only winery around to also offer a full tour of the property (available Tuesday to Saturday).
From 10h30 to 11h30 : discovery of the terroir with the walk admist the vineyard
followed by the winery visit and tasting from 11h30 to 12h30 (10€ per person).
And you can stay for lunch with wine pairing (6 wines incl at 55€, 9 wines incl 65€).
Reservation mandatory.

You can visit Chateauneuf on foot, on ebike (renting in Orange), on 2 CV citroen car...
Several guides offer different types of tours from General to "pro".
And for party of 6 or more, private lunch can be organised in some winery.

So you get it, Chateauneuf is worth a visit and if you have question, please mail me

Below, pictures I took last year