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As foreigners in Southern France, there is never a shortage of sights and destinations to fill the non-working hours. And happily, some are close to home, requiring just a few hours, perfect for a weary ‘flying’ winemaker. On a recommendation from Rick Steves’ Provence book, we did a drive around the hill towns of the Cote du Rhone, circling the Dentelles du Montmirail, the limestone ridge Gigondas is nestled against. We took a slight detour and drove to the top of Mont Ventoux, famous for its role in the Tour-du-France. The mountain is the largest in the region, and climbs to 1910 meters. When you reach the top you feel as if you are miles or planets away, it is so different from the provencal beauty you left only 30 minutes ago. Green and trees give way to bare rock, warmth and sunshine is cut through by a ceaseless wind that plunges the temperature. It really is astonishing – on a clear day, you can see almost to the Mediterranean, then to the French Alps, and assumingly into Italy.
As we continued our driving tour, we came across the tiny town of Suzette, which is located on the backside of the Dentelles from Gigondas. The scenery is quite different; the rock outcroppings are more dramatic, and while the hillsides are still planted with vines as they are in Gigondas, the earth is perceivably different. The land is brick orange, an iron rich clay opposed to the white limestone that dominates in Gigondas. It has been an incredible education on terroir here.
The top photo is us on the top of Mont Ventoux, freezing because we are under dressed, and the photo underneath is the vineyards near Suzette.
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