Provence

For my wife, summering in the South of France was on her bucket list. So when she told me that she had rented a house near Nice, I knew that Provence was soon to be in my future.

I was familiar with Provence Rosés as I have friends who import their explosively popular Rosé wines to the US. I was surprised to discover that driving around Provence can be a hair-raising adventure and I mean that in the worst possible way. With steep drops on either side of the road and almost enough room for one car, it was ridiculous if another car came from the other direction.

This is pretty much why I only focused on Côtes de Provence and not the other 8 wine regions of Provence. With many wineries to choose from and pretty much all of them spectacular, I have a few that I think stand out. Château Barbeyrolles, Domaine Bertaud-Belieu and my number one favorite Château Minuty.

While I do love Domaine Ott in Bandol I find their prices to be a bit outlandish. Besides, with Minuty you get the daily table drinker, as well as the wax capped limited production bottles. The tasting room at Chateau Minuty was empty but for my daughter and me (this could be a sign that it was during the summer vacation and everyone was at the beach). Still, my daughter loved the experience, especially surviving the treacherous roads of Côtes de Provence.