Wine Country

Although Cairanne is now in the heart of southern Cotes du Rhone wine country and is starting to make a name for its wines abroad, the village of eight hundred and some odd has a history going back to the early 1100's. Of course any towns settled at that time on hilltops, albeit Cairanne's not on an extremely high one, were built there for defensive reasons. Most of these villages have maintained some remnants of the original walls with a tower or two that would allow the residents to view advancing armies. Today, it's more about the views of wine country and the hilly outcrop nearby called the Dentelles.

The annual vendage is actually underway, despite the fact that we haven't seen the end of August. Whites are being harvested now and reds will begin sometime around the first week of September. As we headed down the hill from our place, we noticed one of the farmers painting his grape gathering wagons in his garage and one harvester was in the fields starting to whack the grapes from the vines. Considering this brutally mechanical method of picking, it amazes me how good the vines look.
We headed into Orange shortly before noon to try to rent a larger car for when the kids visit. We went to both the Renault dealer and ADA and found ADA significantly cheaper. So now we have a vehicle for all of us and an airport transit vehicle as well.
On the way back we stopped at the wine store in Cairanne. This place represents most of the producers in Cairanne, so is a good way to compare different vintners. There appears to be considerably more red wine production than white, but we did find a couple of nice whites to consume in this heat. There is also a Co-op here and we will eventually make it there for some wine, of that I'm certain.

We met our neighbours, Jim and Lynda Gardner from Portland Oregon, today and travelled with them to what was supposed to be a walk in the vineyards with English spoken. By the time we got to Domaine Mourchon in the hills above Seguret the skies became threateningly dark and there were a few distant rumblings of thunder. It didn't look promising.
We did however meet with the owner and his son-in-law who told us that it would be an abbreviated tour of the vineyards due to the weather. We walked up to one of the higher vineyards and the heavens unloaded on us - thunder, lighting and driving rain. We scampered back to the car shelter next to the winery, where it was clear that our outdoor activities for the day were finished. And the rain fell! This was their first rain in a couple of months, so it was badly needed.

Meanwhile in the winery, our tour continued under Hugo's leadership. He gave us a very comprehensive explanation of their wine making process then led us to the tasting room where we proceeded to experience numerous fabulous wines. We started with a rose and finished up with a Family Reserve Syrah and Family Reserve Grenache, but there were no whites to be had. Each wine had its own redeeming qualities, but we particularly appreciated the way he led us through the tasting of each wine. Then we proceeded to empty out the winery's stock. C'est la vie!


In the evening, we had dinner with Jim and Lynda. By the way, they are the owners of the significant property adjacent to the Pigeons. We had a most enjoyable evening with excellent wines and conversation.