FrenchDuck’s databank
Provence (PACA)

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The town of Grasse (06 Alpes-Maritimes, Provence) famous for being the heart of the Provencal perfumery industry, set up in the hills back from the Mediterranean coast, celebrates its 3-day Fete du Jasmin. The festival marks the beginning of the Jasmine harvest and features fireworks, dancing and a Jasmine parade.
For more info see www.grasse-riviera.com

Veraison wine festival at Chateauneuf-du-Pape. As this is the most prestigious wine of the southern Rhone valley, then it should be well worth a visit.

It is a ”traditional” medieval  festival with joustings, horse riding, jugglers, fire eaters, sword fights and a medieval style carnival centred around a winemakers “village” (village vigneron)

“Veraison” refers to the point in grape development when the process changes from growth to maturing - the berries change colour - and this point is usually a good early indicator of the date of the harvest.
For more info see www.chateauneuf.com/

St Remy-de-Provence (13, Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence) holds it Fête du Vin et de l’Artisanat - featuring the local wines of Les Baux de Provence and Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and local crafts - market stalls with olivesm foie gras, cheese, oysters and honey - music each night in the town.
See www.saintremy-de-provence.com

The pretty Provencal seaside town of Cassis (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence) - east of Marseille celebrates the local wine (Cassis AC) - not the blackcurrant liqueur which traditionally comes from Dijon in Burgundy.
See www.vinscassis.com/

see map

In the centre of Hyeres (83 Var, Provence) the winemakers of the Cotes de Provence hold thier annual festival - honouring some local dignities and generally promoting the virtues of their wines, predominantly the rosés.

For more info see www.ville-hyeres.fr and for Cotes de Provence wines see www.vinsdeprovence.com

Tall Shops race culminating an a Grand parade of the Tall Ships off the coast between Toulon (83 Var, Provence) and Hyeres on 24 July
see www.ville-hyeres.fr

One of the most important Côtes-du-Rhône Villages holds its annual Festival - lots of music, Provencal market stalls and the opportunity to taste the wines of Cairanne.
There is an excellent co-operative and a large number of indpendent growers - for more see www.frenchduck.com

Jazz à Ramatuelle

A small Jazz festival at Ramatuelletuelle overlooking the Bay of St Tropez
For more info see www.jazzfestivalramatuelle.com/
Tel: 33 (0)4 94 79 10 29

Tallard (05 Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) to Marseille (13 Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) - a relatively easy day(!?) coming down from the Alpes to the coast - through the heart of the Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence AC region. The route will pass through Rians (83 Var, Provence) the home of Chateau Vignelaure one of the most respected winemakers in the region.

For more info on the Tour de France 2007 see www.letour.fr or UK Eurosport where there are some good interactive maps of the route.

Val d’Isère (73 Savoie, Rhône-Alpes) to Briancon (05 Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) - after a well-deserved rest day on Monday, the agony continues through the Alps with another Category 1 climb and two Hors Categorie - so steep and challenging that they are outside the normal classification.

For more info on the Tour de France 2007 see www.letour.fr or UK Eurosport where there are some good interactive maps of the route.

Evening Jazz concerts in the vineyards of the Southern Rhone

1 September 2007 – Cairanne

27 October 2007 – Visan

17 November 2007 – Cairanne

For more info see www.frenchduck.com

Nice (Cote d’Azur Provence)- The NICE JAZZ FEST, one of three major jazz events in Europe with Montreux and The Hague, draws more than 45,000 spectators every summer with its 500 plus musicians, 8 days, 75 concerts and 120 hours of magic and music! Every night from 7 pm to midnight, 3 stages present a prestigious array of world-famous artists.
see www.nicejazzfest.com

For some Canadian friends we put together some ideas from our experience to demonstrate how best to do a few days wine touring in the southern Rhône Valley. This is such a rich area to visit - scenically, historically and from a wine (and food) perspective.

We chose to base the tour in St Remy de Provence (13, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence) a few miles south of Avignon for easy access to Les Baux de Provence, Beaumes-de-Venise, Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Cairanne, Lirac, Tavel and Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Others will choose different start points and other vineyards - importantly we think wine tours need to be paced, as an over-indulgence can dull the senses and diminish the enjoyment. And there are so many other things to do in the region, as well as just relax in the delightful climate and atmosphere of Provence.

For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk

The Domaine la Fourmone and its sister vineyard l’Oustau Fauquet produce top quality Vacquyras AC, Gigondas AC and Côtes du Rhône wines -
More info about the domaine
see map (more…)

The Yorkshire Dales is one of the most beautiful regions of the UK (I used to live there) - such a large rural area is not over-populated with too many good specialist wine merchants. TheAngel Inn at Hetton is a favourite Bar, Brasserie and Restaurant with rooms in the heart of the Dales, and its offshoot The Wine Cave is an online Burgundy specialist.

“At the Wine Cave we have a simple philosophy that is to make Burgundy accessible to as many people as possible. By virtue of buying good quality wines from small, lesser known producers, we are able to pass on to our customers a level of quality and value for money that is otherwise unheard of in the UK. This is highlighted by our offering no less than six Grand Cru Burgundies for under £36.00!”

The Wine Cave
c/o The Angel Inn, Hetton, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6LT

Tel: 01756 730415 | Fax: 01756 730363 | email: info@winecave.co.uk

The number of budget airline routes to France from the UK is continuing to grow, as is the number of French destinations - no longer restricted to the major cities. This really does open up some of the less well-known parts of France.
The list below shows the extent of the coverage - and this excludes flights to Paris which are available from most local airports. Some flights are seasonal, so please check with the airline for timetables and availability.

Region: Rhône Valley
Appellation: Gigondas AC
Producer: Domaine la Fourmone
Grapes: Grenache

2 principal cuvées produced - Cuvée Traditionelle and the Cuvée Cigaloun both very rich and high in alcohol. Wonderfully spicy overtones, with the Cigaloun balancing the spice with really good fruit.

From selected plots, velvet colour, spicy nose,grilled aromas, palate delight.

… When it nears the lavender she stops singing.
“Canto ! Canto ! Cigaloun !” says the poet quietly at it becomes his friend…

As ALLEZ VINS! UK French wine merchants we imported the wines of Domaine la Fourmone and l’Oustau Fauquet for many years,
Madame Combe produces high quality intense wines using traditional techniques from the domaine nestling under the Dentelles mountains.Significantly the wines are not filtered, which enables them to retain all the structure and body of these concentrated, powerful and charming wines. Roger Combe, the patriarch of the domaine, is a real Provencal and a renowned poet in the region. You will find Provencal phrases on the labels. The name “Fourmone” is believed to come from the Latin “Fromentum” (wheat), widely grown in the wide expanses of the Rhône valley.
The domaine is situated just north of the village of Vacqueyras, north of Carpentras in the southern Rhône Valley , and in the lee of the Dentelles de Montmirail - a series of jagged edged hills - see map
You can be assured of a warm welcome to the winery (except in February when they are usually closed).

The southern Rhône is dominated by a wide flat valley floor, which is intensively planted with vines. However, the better wines come from the slopes and hills on the valley sides, where the soils, drainage and aspect produce wines with more character and maturity.

Gigondas (under the label “l’Oustau Fauquet” is a seriously rich heavy wine - “drink with spoon” being one of my tasting notes for a particularly extraordinary vintage. It is in many respects similar to the nearby Chateauneuf-du-Pape AC wines - more info

Vaqueyras is a tad lighter, and is best known for its velvety smoothness overlying a spicy character. ” - more detailed info