What do Southern France and Sonoma have in common?
They are both often referred to as regions known for white wines, but both of these regions, Sonoma County and Southern France, have reds that should not be ignored too.
Château Sainte Roseline - a great place I bought souvenirs to eat! Lavender vinegar, honeys, spritz syrups!
Both California and France regions are so close to the coast, it’s no wonder that Southern France is not only a destination for lavender but also white wine for the cooler climates and ocean breezes.
Here are four simple ways we enjoyed wine tastings on a road trip through the South of France.
St. Tropez Peninsula
I first have to talk about St. Tropez and why, for us, it seemed like a best-kept secret.
Baie des Canebiers is also the home to Brigitte Bardot (the house with the blue awning).
There are villages sprinkled throughout the peninsula, like Gassin and Ramatuelle, that made hopping around this area such a delight. The distance between these iconic towns and the St. Tropez harbor is about 10 to 20 minutes, which was just perfect!
If you like wine tasting and stopping in a village to shop for lotions, ailments and anything lavender, before sitting in a cafe for a break, this is just the start of it! Have another tasting before landing on the beach to enjoy the crystal-clear waters, and this area is for you! Entre nous?
We stayed within walking distance to the town of St. Tropez for three days and explored this entire peninsula. We found this area to have the most concentration of wineries around too. The peninsula consists of stops such as wineries, villages, cafes and scenic views for a comfortable way to spend day tripping.
However, if you’re looking to particularly explore wine-tasting experiences throughout Southern France, keep reading.
Here are four simple ways we enjoyed wine-tasting
in Southern France.
Whatever Caught Our Eye, We Stopped!
When we saw Fondugues-Pradugues along the road, (pictured on the cover) Richard flipped a quick u-turn. We saw picnic tables under the trees and it was near sunset. It turned out to be a winery with a pop-up cafe, so we took whatever tables they had available and tried their wine.
The menu offered items to showcase which wines to pair them with, along with wine tastings. It was unique because we were in our bathing suits, sitting under the trees while watching a well-dressed crowd come in for their reservations. Not bad to be good enough to attract people from all walks of life in a campground!
If you like biodynamic wines with a minerality-style like me, this was a great stop. I had to have the Fondugues-Pradugues Rouge d’ été with it’s barnyard taste and quick finish on the palate - driving me to want more of course.
Don’t let the laid-back camping scene fool you - you will need reservations, but it’s worth a lovely evening. Finding places like this made this kind of road trip so unique, especially when the amount of driving was not long to get from one village to another!
The Chateau Stops
We were not intimidated by the large wineries we discovered or which I happened to have bookmarked on my phone too. Although Sonoma County requires reservations, I didn’t abide by that rule here and we got lucky.
We found them not only beautiful but the pourers were friendly, and some tastings were even free. Yes, that’s right. And we never had any reservations.
Where we ate
For lunch or dinner the town of Gassin was a nice recommended place for lunch. We quickly learned to go between the hours where everyone eats because the towns shut down between lunch and dinner. The rule of thumb was, there are times to eat and times to rest; nothing in between.
If you really want the French Riviera experience go here. We didn’t have reservations and could not have our charlatan glass of wine and appetizer, but it was spectacular. This would be “theee” place to have a brilliant lunch overlooking the bay of St. Tropez from the hills of Gassin for those of you who plan, book, and demand more of a luxury experience.
Beaches
Pampelonne Beach is great but you want to visit the beaches south of L’Escalet. Our host recommended those and my curiosity still lingers with not having gone there instead. If you go or have gone, let me know below. However, if you happen to stumble on Pampelonne like we did, it’s not a bad stop.
Plage de Pampelonne, Ramateuelle, France
2. Drove Straight Into Not To Miss Regions
If you’re going to the Côte d'Azur region, one wine region not to miss is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape commune. After much research, if you’re an oenophile like us, we had to drive up to the Vaucluse region just north of Avignon to taste these reds. There is a plethora of CdP wine-tasting shops within this village.
“Buy bottles away from the main section where all the restaurants are, as the price difference is significantly different. Also, remember that most don’t require you to order half a case and will ship however many bottles you want or take with you. ”
Chateauneuf du Pape wines are considered so exceptional each is clearly marked. We knew we couldn’t go wrong with any of these with the embossed stamp of approval just above the label.
3. Made Convenient Visits - Caves à Vin or Village Wine Caves
And just like what the Chateauneuf de Pape village above has to offer in abundance, other areas we found with a high concentration of wine tastings were wine caves located within the walls of villages called Cave à Vins.
These wine-tasting rooms offer local wine tastings, and in this region, of course, we discovered more wines from the Côte d'Azur.
We found a 14th-century wine cave with wine tastings in the village of St. Paul de Vence near Nice.
After walking up and down the stairs throughout the village, we decided to stop in, especially with a sign that read, “14th Century Cellar à Vin.” Most likely a tourist trap, but we were sold!
There was a nice lady who helped us discover a wine which we thoroughly enjoyed. Richard liked to see old vintages and where they were from, but I took a seat and had her pour me a glass.
The thing about the French is that they don’t sell you on any wines. They're French wines, what do you need to be sold on?
The point is, if you don’t have reservations overlooking a vineyard in a chateau, there are many ways to still try the wines, and move on to the next stop.
4. Drove Up To A Castle
While you’re exploring, it might be worth following a castle you see in the distance and stop by. Richard was fascinated with seeing them in the distance so we stopped by the Hostellerie Du Chateau to admire their view and perhaps have a glass of wine.
What a great way to take a break and take it all in - even if you’re paying a little more for what turned out to be a hotel - in a castle.
With plenty of castles that turn out to be hotels or wine chateaus on these drives, we were not intimidated to stop in for a quick hello, even if our entire appetizer was on one toast.
It was mid-September as we discovered the towns of Aix-en Provence and the peninsula of St. Tropez. Driving through the quaint roads, none of them were overly crowded nor the stops too pretentious with their hospitality, no matter how beautiful and elaborate they were.
The wines were more crisp, and drier with the fruit on the back end rather than the fruit forwardness. Bouquets, grapefruit, and citrus notes to the palette were more common, which was delightful. However, when we were not comfortable buying any to ship home, we sometimes drove off like bandits!
Just be careful of the wild boar roaming around the vineyards because this area is about as natural and primitive as it gets when it comes to wine.
Unlike the growing tourist attraction of Northern California’s Wine Country, I found myself asking what took us so long to discover this area.
Where have we been?
Similar to Sonoma County, there is a laid-back appeal to this Southern region of France. For the same reasons we love Sonoma County that we fell in love with, you’ll find in Southern France. There are places like La Verdoyante, I recommended in the hills of Gassin that will charge you for the view, but for the most part of our trip, we were offered fair charges for meals, wine, and views.
Would I go back if I could?
In a heartbeat.
Other attractions of this amazing part of the world is camping, water sports, hiking, sightseeing and vintage shopping. (Good thing I missed the Sunday vintage fair because I was ready to go to town!)
Cheers to France.