As we had more time this year we teamed up with our friend Frits during his yearly wine pilgrimage down the Rhone valley. Normally we joined him for one night only, in the excellent hotel Les Florets in the wine village of Gigondas. This time we tagged along for 6 days, spending the mornings hiking (just us and Pippin), and tasting some wines in the afternoon. This way we did a road trip from Gigondas, to Tavel, Pic Saint Loup and Bandol. At the last moment Paul decided to join as well for a few days, and he was picked up and dropped off at the Avignon TGV train station. And the whole trip with nice summer weather, and dining outside a few evenings!
We met Frits in Gigondas (Les Florets), where we did two nice hikes in the Dentelles de Montmirail area. We then drove to Tavel where famous rose wine is produced, something we wouldn't normally taste or buy, but we gave it a fair chance. This was followed by two days in Pic Saint Loup, an area just north of Montpellier, with several wine villages around two spectacular limestone cliffs. The hike to the top of Pic Saint Loup was apparently famous, and quite busy, especially compared to the Oisans. Unfortunately this was the one overcast morning and the views were somewhat greyish. This was compensated by excellent tasting at Mas Bruguiere, Mirabel, Lascaux and Lancyre, all recommended. The Pic Saint Loup appellation was only recognised in 2017, and is up and coming!
The last stop was at the coastal town of Bandol, doubling as beach and wine resort. We visited and tasted old favourites Galantin and Gaussen, and added the unknown Tempier winery as well. The next morning we did a coastal walk, again with many, many other hikers. We then drove back to the quiet Oisans, dropping off Paul on the way, to continue the rest of our holiday.
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