This winelover’s paradise is just a short distance north of Avignon in the Vaucluse department in Provence, in southern France.
In 1308, Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon, where it stayed for 70 years. The popes began promoting wine growing in the area just north of Avignon, in the present location of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, near the Rhone River.
Today, the wines grown here are world famous.
When Elizabeth and I visited Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we had lunch on the hilltop terrace restaurant near the old castle ruins. The lunch was wonderful, as was the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine.
When we were just finishing, we wanted someone to take a picture. There was a group of about thirty men and women eating and drinking at nearby tables, and we introduced ourselves and began talking.
It turns out they were all employees of a Paris insurance agency on a three-day holiday in the area. They were very friendly. They agreed readily to take out photo. Not only that, but they wanted to create a setting for the photo, so they brought over a magnum of magnificent Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine, set it on our table and refilled our empty glasses to the brim. By the time we left, we had traded emails, and we were a bit tipsy.
The area around Chateauneuf-du-Pape is very lovely, dotted with some very beautiful small villages, which we will talk about at another time.
A lovely setting for your honeymoon or anniversary tour.