A walk through the vineyards

At just about 7:00 this morning, the dump trucks started rolling up into the upper town to continue their infrastructure improvements. It is quite entertaining to watch the trucks from our terrace as they approach the historic gates to the old town.

They have absolute minimal clearance and knowing that hitting the arch would be a career ender, they inch through the arch as if the truck noise alone might bring it down.
Today was forecast to be a windy one. They didn’t say anything about the Mistral, but we got a good blow. The temperature has stayed high, so, who knows.
We opted for a no-car day and plotted a walking route through the vines.
So, if you were staying in the south of France for a month and wanted to take a walk in the vineyards, this is what it might look like.
I must start by saying that this was Wednesday and typically the hunters blow their wad on Sundays and Wednesdays. So, the course plotted for today stayed mostly on paved roads, albeit one-lane farmer’s roads with next to no traffic, vehicular or otherwise.
We passed a variety of vegetation, not just grapes. There were olive trees, pear trees, pomegranates and these bushes laden with brightly-coloured berries.

We headed south out of town and immediately had a great vista of the Dentelles de Montmirail, a prominent geological feature in this area.

Very few places on today’s path were without a view of Cairanne.

As we walked along the trail, we regularly came upon intersections showing direction and distance.

The trail was also regularly marked with yellow flashings , like the ones on this borie-looking water well. Bories are found throughout Provence and their origins, going back perhaps 500 years are still uncertain. Were they merely shepherd’s respites or were they dwellings for avoiding the plague?

As we followed our route, we were forced to step off the road only once as two vehicles loaded with Algerian grape pickers came zooming past hooting and hollering – I’m guessing at Dawn, not at me I hope.
A change in our course took us past two noteworthy domaines - Nick Thompson’s L’Ameillaud and Domaine Galuvan (the terracotta-coloured building) who took over one of our favourites, Domaine Rocher.


From there we headed up into the hills east of Cairanne. We passed the Estevenas vineyards where they were harvesting in earnest. The grade was steady and although Dawn was looking for a shortcut at one point, she stayed the course.

Our walk ended at the Cairanne butcher – another first I might add – and we stocked up with items for a couple of meals. Dawn had never been into the Petitte Jennette store across the street from the butcher, so that was our next stop. It is important to note that if you’re looking for a toothbrush here that they’re next to the light bulbs and duct tape and the dog food is adjacent to the olive oil. Needless to say, however, they have just about anything you might need in a pinch, but we left with only a baguette.
Then it was back to the house for laundry and gardening. The bed sheets had nicely wrapped themselves around the clothesline numerous times in the wind, making removing them interesting.
The rest of the day was pretty quiet, but with the breeze, the end terrace was the place to be.