We booked another half day tour to Orange and one of the wineries in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape area of Provence. There were eight of us on this half day tour. The other six were all from Australia, but did not come to Avignon together. Kind of a weird coincidence. All were from or around the Melbourne area. Margaret and Sid, Mary and Paul and Eric and James.
First stop Orange to see another Roman Arch and a Roman theater
"The Triumphal Arch, classified UNESCO world heritage, is an exceptional monument characteristic of Roman architecture in Provence. This arch is composed of three openings, two levels, several coat of arms and an abundance of decorative figures sculpted into the limestone. This arch is one of the oldest and biggest of its kind from the Gallo-Roman period. Located on the Via Agrippa, this Triumphal Arch does not represent any victory in particular but rather symbolises Roman supremacy over land and seas. Dedicated to the glory of its veteran armies and then to Emperor Tiberius, it marked a road of honor, and stood as the border between the world of the dead and the ancient Roman city". Following a quick photo stop here
we went on to the Roman Theater. There was a movie which showed the history and with photos showing the various times in its history, from its magnificent beginning to the period of destruction and the building of houses that were attached to the Great Wall. It is amazing that it survived as it is today.
"The Roman Theater of Orange is extraordinary in that it has retained its magnificent stage wall - surprisingly well preserved and unique in the Western world. Because of the wall it still has wonderful acoustics. It was a great centre for shows in Roman times and still draws huge audiences to musical events today. It is in fact the best preserved theater in Europe".
of course there were stairs to climb
Behind where you see the doorways is a passage that goes all the way around inside. It was pretty dark, so we opted to walk on the outside
"Orange was a Roman colony called Arausio, founded in 40 B.C. by veterans of Caesar’s Second Gallic regiment. It developed rapidly during the reign of Emperor Augustus and it was at this time, the 1st century A.D., that the Roman Theater of Orange was built.
Although highly prized by the Romans, this theatre suffered the same fate as the Roman Empire and it was closed by imperial command in 391 A.D. By this time Christianity had become the de facto state religion and the Church opposed all pagan spectacles. The Roman Theater of Orange was abandoned completely when the Roman empire fell in the 4th century A.D. It was sacked and pillaged by the Barbarians and was used as a defensive post in the Middle Ages. During the 16th century wars of religion it was used as a place of refuge and rapidly filled up with dwellings.
Theatre's rebirth
It was only in the 19th century that the Roman Theater of Orange slowly recovered its original splendour, thanks to the restoration works begun in 1825 at the behest of the author Prosper Mérimée, who then held the position of director of “Monuments Historiques”. The tiered seats were only restored at the end of the 19th century, such was the slowness of the compulsory purchase procedures that had to be put in place".
Lacking a roof, the wall was in danger due to rain run off and the elements. A roof of glass and metel was erected over the top which is not resting on the ancient stones, but protects it from the elements
We finished our self tour a little early, so Terry and I went in search of a warming coffee just across the street from the theater
Little cafe below the green building was open so off we went
Since we were on our way to wine tasting and no lunch, we ask the proprietor if he had croissants. He hesitated, then said yes, did we want plain or chocolate. We said chocolate. He quickly fixed our coffee with creme and then said he would be right back. He left the cafe and shortly came back with a little sack. He had gone around the corner to a patisserie and brought us one plain and one chocolate croissant. Suffice it to say something was lost in the translation. HA. But where are you going to find such an accommodation as this. Maybe only in France. The croissants were delish and very fresh.
Back on the van we are headed for Chateauneuf du Papes to a winery. First it is a village and an area of specific wineries and not the name of a wine. All the wines produced here are blends of different grapes. The name only refers to the region or appelation.
"In 1936, the INAO, Institut National des Appellations d’Origine officially created the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation and created laws and rules that growers needed to follow, if they chose to sell their wines under the now, official Chateauneuf du Pape designation. It was agreed that the appellation would be created based on terroir and perforce, to a limited extent geography for vines planted in Chateauneuf du Pape and some areas of Orange, Courthezon, Sorgues and Bedarrides. A few other important rules were set in place for estates making wine in Chateauneuf du Pape. Only 13 grapes
were allowed to be planted in the appellation. The vine density must not be less than 2,500 vines per hectare and cannot exceed 3,000 vines per hectare. Vines must be at least 4 years of age to be included in the wine. Machine harvesting is not allowed in Chateauneuf du Pape. All growers must harvest 100% of their fruit by hand. Vines are allowed to be irrigated no more than twice a year. However, irrigation is only allowed when a vintages is clearly suffering due to a severe drought. If a property wishes to irrigate due to drought, they must apply for permission from the INAO. Any watering must take place before August 15. Chateauneuf du Pape wine must be at least 12.5% alcohol and chaptalziation was not allowed. These were the minimum requirements for producers seeking to have their wines sold as Chateauneuf du Pape". When I asked how long the vines produce, our expert said that some of the vines still producing are 100 years old.
In the bottom section of the map in the very center is one dark green blob. This the Chateauneuf-du-Pape area. The vinyards surround the village by the same name. Very small area in what is known as the Cotes du Rhone valley. With all the regulations placed on the growers, you can see why they wines are so expensive
Les Pavillon de vins Skalli Wine tasting center. Wines from the Skalli family vineyard
Our merry little band of tasters. From left Paul and Mary, Moi, Terry, Margaret and Sid and Eric and James.
Only red and white wines are produced in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. No Rose. I believe our expert said that 95% of the wine is red and 5% white.
And so the tastint begins with a white
What looks like a giant idaho potato on the table is a rock. The soil in this area which is what makes the wines taste the way they do is rocky and sandy. Different growers can plant the same grapes and complete the winemaking process with the same exact grapes and no two wines will ever taste the same. All depends on the soil, the weather and the amount of sun, etc. They do not weed their vineyards or use any kind of fertilizers. Instead they plant flowers and herbs in between the rows and their nutrients feed the soil. I noticed this on the way into the area that the rows between the vines were not prestine. And this is why. Wish I had been able to get a picture of one of the vineyards, but alas no photo stop.
If you've ever been to a wine tasting, you know there is much twirling of the glass, looking at the color and clarity, smelling for the nose, and then swishing around in the mouth. Not a pretty picture, but if you do all of this when tasting a wine, you too can become a wine snob of the very French variety. Did you know that the lighter the white wine is the younger it is. If you do, you may already be in the running for wine snob. Oh yes there was much discussion of which foods complement the wines. Also part of the wine snob persona.
Ok, on to the reds (this one goes for around 50 Euro a bottle)
It was good, but we all decided later that we weren't that crazy about it. Terry bought a couple of bottles of other Cotes du Rhone varieties to take home. Not too expensive. We shall see if we learned anything from our tasting when we open them.
Other things to spend euro on in the shop. (There is always a shop to exit through) Wine of coursse
Wine kits complete with cork screw, bottle stopper and for real wine snobs a thermometer to test for the correct temperature of the wine and once all that is accomplished you can play a little chess while sipping on your perfect temperature wine.
jams, jellies and chocolate
From here we headed back into Avignon and the end of the tour.
As I sit here penning this blog, we have opened a bottle of the red that Terry bought yesterday. We have swirled, smelled and swished and have determined it drinkable, in fact quite good. VOILA! It cost 5 Euro (about 8 bucks US). What can I say, I like cheap wine.
The double carousel for the kiddies and cotton candy too
It was a bit rainy off and on, but fairly warm. A great kickoff to the season and it did not open until after Thanksgiving. Yeah, no Black Friday here. 
