When Nik and I first arrived to France this past fall and spent two weeks traveling through the South of France, I could not get enough of the delicious rosé that the region is known for. So it was great when I went with friends on a Côtes de Provence Winery Tour at the end of April.
Provence Winery Tour
My friend Terri arranged our Provence Winery Tour through Azure Wine Tours and it included pickup and drop-off from a location of our choosing, a stop at three different vineyards and lunch in one of the towns. At 9:30 a.m., our group gathered and hopped into a van with our guide, Peter, leading the way. He had the AC kicking, chatted a bit about his background and got a brief overview of what our day would entail. With that, we were on the road to our first stop.
Nik stayed home to have some quality time with Koval the dog, since this was going to be an all day event and we didn’t have a dog sitter yet.
Château de Saint Martin
In the town of Taradeau is Château de Saint Martin, designated a “Cru Classé.” That designation recognizes vineyards with historical significance, consistent quality, and excellence in viticulture (the cultivation of grapevines) and winemaking. Currently, only 18 vineyards in Côtes de Provence hold this prestigious title.
It originally dates back to the Roman ages with a few stone architectural pieces still visible. Following the Romans, the Merovingians1A Frankish dynasty that ruled over parts of Europe, primarily in modern-day France, Germany, and surrounding regions, from the 5th to the 8th centuries. moved in, followed by monks who settled there starting a small wine priory. (A wine priory refers to the historical connection of a wine region to monastic orders.)
As the first stop on our Provence Winery Tour, visiting Château de Saint Martin really set up the day ahead. It would be the only winery where we had a full tour and learned a lot about the wine making process and some of the strict guidelines they need to follow in wine production. It also had one of the most fascinating histories with the amount of women who have run it.
In its present state, Château de Saint Martin can be traced back to 1740 when Marquis de Villeneuve Bargemon bought it from the monks and built the Château as a dowry for the marriage of his daughter. Since then, the Château has almost always been passed down from one Countess to another, with the exception of the Count of Rohan-Chabot, a well-known figure in the world of wine and grandfather of the current owner Adeline de Barry, who represents the family’s 11th generation.
The tank above really gives an idea of the process. It’s their grand reserve (GR) rosé and the AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) is a classification that designates the highest quality of wine.
After spending time touring the grounds and learning about its history and winemaking process, we got to enjoy some of their wines.
All in all, we sampled six (!) different wines. Their rosé was the star of the show and I purchased two bottles to bring home.
Related: Getting Settled in Nice
Next up was a stop for lunch at Café De Paris in the town of Les Arcs. The whole menu looked very good, but they’re known for their hamburger served between two hash brown patties. Sold! It came topped with bacon and cheddar and to eat it was a fork and knife situation. It was so good. Others in the group got a chicken caesar salad and shrimp with spring rolls, both of which also looked amazing.
Château Saint-Esprit
After our lunch break, we continued the Provence Winery Tour with a visit to Château Saint-Esprit, located in the town of Draguignan. Owned by the Croce-Spinelli family for four generations, they produce 100,000 bottles a year.
Though we didn’t get the full tour of their winemaking process, the grounds were beautiful and we got to walk around and enjoy the various art pieces sprinkled throughout the property.
At Château Saint-Esprit we sampled five of their wines, including a red.
Surprisingly, I really liked the red more than the rosé and whites we sampled. None-the-less, I took home two bottles of wine from here as well.
Château Font du Broc
The third and final stop of our Provence Winery Tour was at Château Font du Broc located in Les Arcs. From the moment we pulled into the parking lot, I knew we were in for a treat. Just incredibly different than our first two stops.
We drove up the long, winding driveway with vineyards spread out over 28 hectares (69 acres) all around us, but we never got the chance to stop and walk through them.
The owner of Château Font du Broc, Sylvain Massa, comes from a family of entrepreneurs. His early inspiration comes from a lineage that dates back to his great-grandfather, Sylvain-Emile Massa, who settled in Cannes, France in 1908. The family business was passed down from generation to generation employing more than 1,000 employees in the winemaking, horse breeding, real estate and automotive industry. A large portion of the grounds today are devoted to horses.
Sylvain Massa started renovation of the grounds in 1979. The first vines were planted in 1989 and they finally opened to the public in 1994 with the sale of their first red bottle of Château Font du Broc.
We sampled three wines, and the red was by far my favorite. A very full body red that I brought home for Nik and I to further enjoy. Even their website says the winery has developed a reputation for producing one of the best red wines in the region. From the elegant design and raised lettering on the wine bottle labels, everything at Château Font du Broc felt so grand. There were fountains, statues and gorgeous buildings.
After making our purchases at Château Font du Broc, we got back into the van for the return drive to Nice. It was a fantastic day. The weather could not have been better and the company was one of a kind. I’m lucky to have found such a great group of people to become friends with.
