Wine tasting in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Cave du Verger des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

We are travelling in the Rhône valley region of southern France, crossing and re-crossing the Rhône River from Provence to Languedoc-Roussillon.  With the afternoon free, we were on a mission to do some degustation at several of our favourite Domains.  But because today was a bank holiday, they were all ferme.  Frustrated, we drove on to the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in hopes of finding a wine shop open.  I had been here about five years ago, but my vague memories did not prepare me for such a delightful village.  With so many of the crowds of tourists gone due to the holiday, we had little trouble finding parking a spot and wandered the cobblestone streets.  After peering into shop windows, ‘caves de vin,’ and checking restaurant menus, I suggested we climb up the hill to the ruin of the papal castle, thinking of the nice restaurant I saw there years ago. 

We came upon a wine dealer, the “Cave du Verger des Papes” and decided to look in.  What a treat!  This happens to be the only Roman-era wine cave in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2000 years old, with the original wine vats carved out of the stone used by the Romans (crushing the grapes by foot), and examples of the terracotta amphorae for transport.  Even though we may think of the Avignon Papacy as the originators of viticulture here, in fact the Romans brought the wine industry to this part of the Rhône Valley.  Of course the Roman Popes enlarged the industry, especially Pope John XXII, for whom the papal castle on the hill above Châteauneuf-du-Pape was built between 1317 and 1333.

The proprietor gave us a few samples of nice whites and several reds, with the AOC (Appellation d’origine Contrôlée) label Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the distinctive bottles with the papal tiara and crossed keys.  She told us the reds were blends of thirteen varieties of grapes, and that only three producers made their reds using all thirteen.    She explained how the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vintages were of higher alcohol content, and were better after aging. Traditionally the wines of this region have relatively high alcohol content but are not allowed to go higher than 15.5% and if they are drunk too young, the taste will be a bit high in tannic.  She said they could be opened and drunk as young wines, but suggested that the wines aged at least five years would be more pleasing.  A well-balanced wine, given at least five years to age will be much more enjoyable and display the true skill of the winemaker.

Roman wine vats carved out of the rock

Until the wine critic Robert Parker highlighted the Châteuneuf-du-Pape and gave a rating of ‘100 out of 100,’ these wines were relatively unknown. Of course, the increased fame increased the price! Our guide explained that their cave made an effort to carry the lesser-known Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers in their inventory, recognizing that the larger Domains had the means of advertising, marketing, and exporting.  One of the wines we tasted was from their smallest producer consisting of four workers, the father, mother and two sons.  I asked how long that producer had been in business and she told me ten generations, and they were the youngest.  With my astonishment, she added the oldest producers in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region had been making wine since the 13^th century, before the popes moved from Rome to Avignon.

 

We made our selections, and I bought some charming wine glasses, which we asked to have stored and pick up later so we could continue the climb to the papal castle, really just a bit farther up the hill.  The view was marvelous, with the huge Rhône about two miles in the distance, winding through the valley.  The breezes whistled through the empty window-openings in the thick castle walls -- only the south wall is intact to give the visitor a true perspective of this massive building.  The combination of the popes’ return to Rome in 1376 and the French Wars of Religion in the mid 1500’s contributed to the decay and destruction, with the site becoming a ‘quarry’ as the stones were re-used for other buildings.  But in seeing the ruins, one can only imagine the magnificence of this castle in its prime.

Next time you are in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and would like a unique wine-tasting experience, visit

Cave du Verger des Papes

4 Montée du Château

843230 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

www.vergerdespapes.com

Day tripping in Lucerne

 

Switzerland is truly a four-language country, and Lucerne is in the heart of the predominantly German region.  Using the variety of German called “Schweizerdeutsch” this German is different enough for speakers of the standard “Hochdeutsch” to almost qualify as a dialect.  Short day trips from Zürich (about 1.5 hours by car) keep us in the German regions, including our visit to Lucerne last September. 

 

This lovely city is perhaps best recognized from photographs of the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) a wooden covered bridge spanning the River Reuss, with the stone octagonal shape Wasserturm (Water Tower) next to it.  Dating originally from the mid-14^th century, the bridge was nearly destroyed by fire in the late 20^th but was reconstructed so Lucerne would not lose this iconic structure.  Now when crossing the bridge, warnings are posted “Rauchen verboten” (No Smoking) – cigarettes were said to be the cause of the fire.  This is a very long bridge to cross, almost 700 feet, and at intervals paintings of medieval scenes of Lucerne are added to entertain the pedestrian.  But really, the views across the river are all the entertainment I needed.

Lucerne was not one of the original cantons that formed the Swiss Confederation in 1291, but joined a short time later.  In those days, the Habsburg dukes from nearby Aargau ruled this land, and Rudolf von Habsburg was elected and crowned King of the Romans in 1273, the first Habsburg in the long ruling dynasty that lasted until 1918.  However, the cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden formed a confederation to declare independent rule after King Rudolf’s death in 1291.  As one would expect, medieval kings did not accept loosing revenue producing territory without a fight, and the deciding battle to defend this new confederation included Lucerne at Sempach in 1386 which resulted in the death of the Habsburg Duke Leopold III of Austria, and recognition for what is now called the “Old Swiss Confederation.” 

For this quick visit, we wandered the medieval Old Town, crossed the Kapellbrücke, and stopped in a restaurant for a lovely dinner and bottle of wine.  With the shortened September day, we decided to head back to Zürich before dark.  I will visit Lucerne again on this trip.

 

 

Next:  a day in the gorgeous Italian-Swiss city of Lugano

 

Visiting Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland -- July 2014

Travelling again, and does it feel great!  This year I have resolved to relax more, to observe rather than sightsee, and to get the feel of daily life of the places I visit. 

Here in Zurich this resolution is quite easy to follow, as I have the unique opportunity to stay with my daughter and son-in-law, and share their daily activities and routines.  Getting that  ‘up close and personal’ view of life in Switzerland.

Work day starts very early with lunchtimes strictly observed, meaning the shops are services are closed from 12:30pm to 1:30pm, so don't plan on stopping at the post office or picking up your cleaning during lunch hour. Promptly at 5pm the workforce emerges from the trams for the short walk home.  The public transportation system of busses and trams is great here - convenient, quiet, clean (but expensive), and environmentally sound.  In fact, people here opt to use public transportation to get to work rather than their cars.  The city traffic planners seem to discourage use of cars here, methods of an unacknowledged “car-tax” which include steep parking fees (300 CF per year) to park on the street but with no guarantee of finding a place, city shopping areas with no parking lots, and extremely restrictive speed limits and huge fines for minor exceedances. And of course, the streets are narrow, winding, with tiny parking spaces - if you can find one.  In general, this is a very expensive city in which to live, but it is a very beautiful, safe, crazy-clean city.  As my son-in-law tells me, Zurich keeps you in a warm jacket, but it is a very tight jacket!

 

We went for a weekend drive south-east past the Bodensee, across the tiny land-locked country of Liechtenstein, to the Austrian Alpine resort of Silbertal.  Weather was stormy, but the dark clouds made the scenery even more dramatic.  The town of Silberstal was a quaint Alpine site with charming Gasthauses for the winter skiers, hi-end shopping, and a city hall flying international flags.  All the houses and businesses were decorated with colorful flowerboxes and Tyrolean woodcarving. Above the town was the 13^th century village of Bartholomäberg and a well-preserved Baroque church with the classic onion-domed tower, and we drove up to it and got a few photos of the amazing views to the valley below.

Lots more to see here in Switzerland, then I will be visiting Germany and France in the weeks ahead!