perhaps not of the same weight and complexity as the big vintages of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but well made, easy to drink, and inexpensive. There are dozens of these wines, and that’s the problem. It would take a greater thirst than mine to try them all, and I’m sure that I have omitted several treasures. Further research is being carried out on a daily basis. Meanwhile, here are a few favorites.
Château La Canorgue, Bonnieux
Reds and whites are good, and there is a wonderfully pale, smoky rosé, most of which is bought by local restaurants. To ensure getting a case or two, you need to go to the château in March or April.
Domaine Constantin-Chevalier, Lourmarin
Somehow, two men and their tractors manage to take care of about fifty acres of vines. The wines, particularly the reds, are beginning to gather medals and appear on restaurant wine lists. If this continues, there is a good chance that the staff will be increased to three.
Domaine de La Royére, Oppède
The only vineyard I know where the winemaker is a woman, and very good she is, too. Anne Hugues turns the grapes into excellent wines, while her husbandmakes a fine
marc
, potent and deceptively smooth. Drive with caution after a tasting.
Château La Verrerie, Puget-sur-Durance
An ancient vineyard, replanted and completely rejuvenated by a wine-loving businessman with the help of Jacky Coll, one of the regions most accomplished architects of the grape. His touch has produced some exceptional reds.
Domaine de La Citadelle, Ménerbes
One of the bigger local properties, and the home of a corkscrew museum as well as a wide and interesting range of Côtes du Luberon. Tasting sessions tend to be prolonged and sometimes convivial.
La Cave du Septier, Apt
Not a vineyard, but a shop run by Hélène and Thierry Riols, who know all that I wish I knew about the wines of Provence. Put yourself in their hands, and drink what they recommend. Naturally, as responsible wine merchants, they also stock all kinds of splendid bottles from Bordeaux and Burgundy. However, since these come from foreign parts they need not concern us here.
Olive Oil
Probably the most fashionable Provençal oils are those from the valley of Les Baux, and if you happen to be near Maussane-les-Alpilles just after the olives are gathered toward the end of the year, you can find those oils in the tiny Maussane cooperative. But the oils go quickly, andsummer visitors are likely to have better luck farther north in Haute Provence.
Here, on the outskirts of Mane, you will find Oliviers & Co., a shop that sells a remarkable range of handpicked oils from the Mediterranean basin—Italy, Greece, Sicily, Corsica, Spain—as well as some of the best homegrown oils. Take a baguette into the shop with you, because you can taste before you buy. (Porcelain tasting spoons are provided, but you can’t beat the combination of good oil on fresh bread.) And while you’re there, pick up some olive oil soap, which is said to impart a Mediterranean glow to the complexion.
Honey
Every market has its honey stand, and you may one day bump into my favorite honey salesman, Monsieur Reynaud. “My bees,” he will tell you, “have flown in from Italy to make this honey.” This, for some reason, I find very impressive, and so there is almost always a pot of Reynaud honey in the house.
But if you should want to see what the local bees can do, go to the Mas des Abeilles, on the Claparèdes plateau above Bonnieux. You’ll find honey flavored with lavender, with rosemary, or with thyme; honey vinegar; royal jelly; and a delicious honey mustard. As a bonus, there’s a bee’s-eye view of Mont Ventoux and the Luberon.
Bread
As with practically everything edible in France, there are pronounced and often noisy differences of opinion aboutwhat constitutes the perfect texture and even the perfect form of your daily bread. The
fougasse
, the
boule
, the
pain fendu
, the
restaurant, pain de campagne, pain au levain
—each has