DP Vin GB 2015.Indd
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« A DAY WITHOUT WINE IS A DAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE» as the saying goes and Vaucluse can rely on both! Without any doubt, the history of vineyards, grown here for thousands of years, and the history of Vaucluse are inex- tricably intertwined. Each in their time, Greeks, Romans, the Popes, the Jews - not to mention the mighty Rhône River, have all had a decisive influence on both. Three appellations cover the area here – Côtes du Rhône, AOC Ventoux, and AOC Luberon. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape vintage has attained international fame and more than half of the villages in Vaucluse make their living from wine. Since times past when the traveller took refuge in monasteries, welcomed with a glass of wine, wine has remained a symbol of friendship, of sharing, of human warmth and joie de vivre... In other words, wine is a lifestyle, the Vaucluse lifestyle. YOUR CONTACTS IN OUR PRESS DEPARTMENT Valérie BISET Head of Press and Communications [email protected] T. +33(0)4 90 80 47 06 Daniela DAMIANI National and international press [email protected] T. +33(0)4 90 80 47 07 Valérie GILLET International Press [email protected] T. +33(0)4 90 80 47 08 Teresa STORM International Press [email protected]. +33(0)4 90 80 47 04 VAUCLUSE TOURISM – Wine Press Kit 2015 - Contact: Valérie BISET – T. 33 (0)4 90 80 47 06 [email protected] - www.provenceguide.com - http://presse.provenceguide.com Page | 3 Table of contents 04 Zoom on... 08 History of the Côtes du Rhône vineyards 10 Vaucluse wine map 11 The 3 wine appellations in Vaucluse Côtes du RhônelVentouxlLuberon 13 ‘Terroir’, Varietals and Harvest 15 Wine routes in the Vaucluse 16 A selection of cellars and estates 18 Wine and sustainable development 20 Wine-making museums 22 Discovering, tasting and buying at cellar door prices 23 Initiation to wine-tasting and wine-blending 27 Food and wine 29 Wine bars and restaurants in wineries 32 Activities in the vineyards On your merry way: Walking around the vineyards In horse driven carts - in a buggy - on an electric bike 37 Guides and excursions in the vineyards 40 Take part in the grape-picking 41 Talking about wine Distilleries Discovering wine and vineyards through painting 42 Women and wine 43 Winegrowers from elsewhere 44 Wine celebrations 47 Wine brotherhoods 48 Accomodation at the vineyards 51 Getaways in the vineyards 53 Bibliography, Wise wine sayings 54 Useful contacts VAUCLUSE TOURISM – Wine Press Kit 2015 - Contact: Valérie BISET – T. 33 (0)4 90 80 47 06 [email protected] - www.provenceguide.com - http://presse.provenceguide.com Page | 4 Zoom on... New The Carré du Palais: a showcase for the wines of the Rhône Valley Avignon, Capital of the Côtes du Rhône, needed a prestigious venue to show off the wines of the Rhone Valley to best ad- vantage. Now it has one: the magnificent 18th-century mansion of Calvet de la Pa- lun, one of the last mansions built in papal Avignon and former Banque de France, be- gan its metamorphosis in 2014 to provide for 2016 a new exceptional location: the Carré du Palais. A wine school, wine tourism venue, Rhone wine bar, gourmet restaurant with re- nowned chef, luxurious suites and upscale boutiques find their home here between Place de l’Horloge and the Palais des Papes. Inter-Rhône © Jérôme UBASSY Inter Rhône Press Department: T. +33(0)4 90 27 24 16 [email protected] - www.carredupalaisavignon.com 3rd Wine-tasting World championship at Châteauneuf-du-Pape The third Wine-tasting World cham- pionship held by the Revue du vin de France will be held on 17 October 2015, in partnership with Maisons AYALA, Wi- neandCo.com, Chef & Sommelier, Valade et Transandine, Ogier and Laroche. Teams from some 20 countries are expec- ted to attend, some of them newcomers. Teams attending: France, Belgium, Luxem- bourg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ger- many, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, China, South Africa, Brazil, Venezue- la, Andorra, Quebec, Poland, Argentina and the USA. As in previous years, this challenge will involve blind tasting of 12 wines from all over the world. Teams of Championnat 2014 Maison Ayala en Champagne©J.-C. Gutner four tasters will try them. For each wine, the team must state the main grape variety, country of production, appellation, wine-grower and vintage. The team with the most points will become the 2015 world champions after the Belgians in 2013 and the French in 2014. To make it an entertaining, friendly event, each team will be wearing a special outfit in their country’s colours for this challenge geared around sharing the love of wine. After the competition and the award ceremony, a friendly meal will be organised for all competitors. Contact : Philippe de Cantenac – Revue du Vin de France T. 33 (0)6 83 35 56 92 - [email protected] VAUCLUSE TOURISM – Wine Press Kit 2015 - Contact: Valérie BISET – T. 33 (0)4 90 80 47 06 [email protected] - www.provenceguide.com - http://presse.provenceguide.com Page | 5 Zoom on... New The Châteauneuf du Pape’s wine museum in a new look The Wine Museum of the Maison Brotte in Châteauneuf- du-Pape has seen a range of transformations since being founded in 1972. The most recent dates back to spring 2014 and offers, besides a striking set design, a fun and educational insight on the wines of the Rhone Valley, and those of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in particular. The idea was to pre-empt any questions from visitors about the wines of this flagship designation, without becoming daunting. Successfully done! The visit ends on a tasting of the wines. Free entrance. Open 7 days a week. Audioguides in 6 lan- guages : F, GB, D, Portugais, Chinois, Russe. ©Maison Brotte - Musée du Vin Maison Brotte, Musée du Vin, 84230 Châteauneuf du Pape www.brotte.com – [email protected] Artists’ Wine Harvest in Cairanne - travelling exhibition of grape-harvest trailers End of August 2015 (date to be confirmed) An original concept: some forty grape-harvest trailers entrusted by the winegrowers of Cairanne to artists and Fine Arts students for crea- tive experiments. Unused to working with metal, equipped with spray cans and brushes, they soon adapted to the support, corrugated iron, wooden slats and rust. Some found inspiration in Nature, others in Greek mythology, yet others worked in the idea of ‘Exquisite Corpses’ borrowed from Surrealism... This yielded the display of some thirty brightly coloured trailers on the village square from early September, for an exceptio- nal opening around the work of these vintner-artist pairs. For the last ©Syndicat des Vignerons de Cairanne three years, forty or so brightly coloured trailers were on show in the village square, before they went back to their most important job, travel- ling round the local roads during the grape harvest. If you follow them, your curiosity will lead you to estates where the winegrowers will welcome you with open arms. The most successful trailers were given awards by a jury of artists. Syndicat des Vignerons de Cairanne T. +33(0)4 90 30 86 53 - www.vignerons-cairanne.com A website dedicated to wine tourism in Vaucluse: www.wine-tourism-provence.co.uk More than a site dedicated to wine tourism, www.wine-tourism-provence.co.uk is an invitation to explore the Vau- cluse wine region, which can be as illustrious and flamboyant as rough and discrete. The website is the result of close collaboration between Vaucluse Tourism and the Côtes du Rhône, AOC Luberon and AOC Ventoux wine trade or- ganisations. In two clicks, you can access major wine estates, restaurants or country bistros where local produce is all important. And don’t forget the winemakers’ agenda, ideas for itineraries through the vineyards or short breaks etc. It’s an indispensable tool for a new kind of tourist, the «wine-tourist», to unlock the riches of this area! VAUCLUSE TOURISM – Wine Press Kit 2015 - Contact: Valérie BISET – T. 33 (0)4 90 80 47 06 [email protected] - www.provenceguide.com - http://presse.provenceguide.com Page | 6 Zoom on... New The Domaine des Peyres in Luberon: Wine, Art de Vivre and Contemporary Art After a long period in the doldrums, this estate boasting 20 hectares of terraced vineyards and a good dozen hectares of forest and scrubland, has now been taken over by Georges Antoun, hote- lier, and Patricia Alexandre (a former contributor to the Gault Millau guides). This time-honoured site, with the former Roman road, the Via Domi- tia, cutting through it, now boasts five prestigious gîtes. Fully renovated, this place combines art gal- lery, tasting-room and state-of-the-art vathouse. The vineyard has been reorganised, tip-top techni- cal facilities have been set up and a «wine resort» has been added in the fully renovated farmhouse. Leveraging the talent of local artisans, the estate has recovered its former glory, giving visitors a chance to taste the wines produced on the estate in©Domaine the newly des Peyre refurbished former stables, and admire the various works of art dotted around the estate and in the galle- ry. Five luxury apartments for stays of one week, or weekend breaks in the low season. The décor features an interplay of stone, wood, metal and linen, chiming in beautifully with the charm of the crockery, picked up at an antique fair on Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. There’s an infinity pool reserved exclusively for guests. Domaine des Peyre – 84440 Robion T. +33 (0)9 67 26 94 42 - [email protected] - www.domainedespeyre.com La Coquillade 5* Village & Spa Since 2008, the Hôtel La Coquillade has been deligh- ting us with its subtle blend of refined and discreet luxury, a dream environment, out in the Parc du Lu- beron, a restaurant quickly spotted by the Red Guide (1*) and an ecological sensibility that makes sense in these protected landscapes.