Before we even left for France, I knew there was one winery that I wanted to visit in Provence and you can also try here to get once in a lifetime experience. The owners of the apartment that we rented in L’isle Sur la Sorgue told me about the winery Tempier Bandol. Alice Waters imports their wines for Chez Panisse. They are known for their roses and robust reds. The winery is located outside the coastal fishing village of Bandol. This is an important wine growing region in France.
The winery was down a one lane path and our GPS said we had arrived long before we saw it. David was ready to turn back, but we kept going at my insistance and I”m glad we did.
We sampled both the rose and the red wine and came away with a nice bottle of 2009 red wine. Hopefully it will make it home in our luggage. We will save it for our blind wine tasting event over the Labor Day weekend.
After leaving the winery we drove to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Our rental car was upgraded to a Peugeot convertible. David loved it and wished we could get one in the US.
Cassis is a resort town on the coast that has a beautiful harbor. It is not as crowded as Nice or Canne
.
We had lunch at a harborside brasserie.
The Salad Niscoise was refreshing with a glass of rose wine and a view of the sea. Life could not have been better!
We only wish that we had brought our bathing suits.
I will continue with our adventures when we return home on Saturday. We are staying with our friends in Tours right now and do not have internet access. I am writing this from the Irish company Bar in old Tours, the only place we could find with wifi. It is approaching lunch time and David already knows what he is having….Moules au Curry…mussels with cream, curry and white wine.
How beautiful it is there and what a great car to drive around in.
Looking forward to you coming home and hearing all about your adventure.
Hugs,
Penny
You are packing every day with memories!….wine, food, scenery and people!
Yum. And I do want to see pix of your friends’ place in Tours. They are the handsome couple you met in Alaska, No?
so nice–feels like we are traveling with you
looks fabulous- so glad you are enjoying yourselves!!
sounds like such an amazing trip! what gorgeous photos!
You’ve shared such great adventures with us. We’ll look forward to more later. Enjoy your days to the full!
What lovely photos! We’re thinking of going to France next summer! I can’t wait to see and read more posts about your trip! Enjoy your remaining days & safe travels!
Mary
P.S. Love the car too!
We were told last year at the Pibarnon Bandol winery that Tempier was really the fore runner for the Bandol AOC area – the long time spokesman for the region. I have 3-4 regular and single vineyard bottlings in storage – do as you want but I would not touch the ’09 for another 7-8 yrs to show its true colors
My fav of all red wines I think!
Looks like you guys are hitting some good spots.
What a lovely day… and fun car! When we lived in Andorra we used to get down to the coast often – I miss that. And now you’re in Tour – close to our former house in France. Lovely city!
It’s wonderful to visit places you have read or heard about, even if they are at the end of a one-lane road. (I am remembering our trip to La Roque-Gageac in 2008). Enjoy your trip!
What a lovely village and winery. It is going on my “to do” list for our next trip. The coast is so pretty.
Sam