Between Drôme and Vaucluse, a rive flows amidst the vineyards

M. Chapoutier was founded more than two centuries ago and now is known around the world for its wine production and trade. In recent decades, the company has acquired and developed vineyards in France's Rhône Valley and Roussillon, as well as in Australia, Spain, and Portugal. Today, M. Chapoutier nurtures nearly 900 acres of vineyards across the globe. All parcels are worked biodynamically and the firm is celebrated by oenologists worldwide, like wine critic Robert Parker, who has given M. Chapoutier a score of 100/100.

When you arrive at this prestigious Wine University, housed in the superb 12th century castle of Suze-la-Rousse, you will receive a professional introduction to oenology, the science of wine. Which varieties work well together, how wine is produced, sensory analysis, tasting…, within this inner sanctuary of the Côtes du Rhône vineyards, you will receive some of the keys to a knowledge which is born of tradition and modernity.

You will explore a picturesque itinerary of tiny roads which stretch for a mere 20 km and wind through a terroir of hills and plains that are home to the finest AOC ‘villages' labels of Côtes du Rhône. At Cairanne, you can enjoy a leisurely sensory trail through the wine cellars, an introduction to the pleasures of the five senses; in Rasteau, you can enjoy the opportunity to taste one of the famous fortified wines from the Rhône valley; in Gigondas, you can sample the subtle blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grape varieties.

Gordes is one of the most beautiful villages in France, and its rock-coloured houses built into the limestone rock face, overlook the gentle Luberon landscape. I find the typical atmosphere of its castle and its tiny winding streets or ‘calades' totally irresistible. Next door, the village of Les Bories is reminiscent of the rural life of yesteryear with its superb dry-stone architecture, while Sénanque Abbey, an austere and majestic edifice, is imbued with unparalleled harmony.

Bonnieux is yet another famous Luberon village, whose reputation is built on its wineries, the oldest in the Vaucluse. Its wine growers have amassed a veritable expertise over a period of more than 90 years. They will offer you their very best wines to taste, wines that have been produced under the Provençal sun and are served by people who have long mastered the ways in which to get the very best out of their native soil.

Avignon is known throughout the world for having been the seat of the Papacy between 1309 and 1376, and is proud of its impressive Palais des Papes, the Popes' residence and Catholic power base for almost a century. It is surrounded by churches, chapels, convents and town houses, sheltered within the city ramparts, which provide the fabric of an old town with an atmosphere all of its own. In the summer the renowned theatre festival brings added excitement. An event not to be missed!

Barbentane, an authentic Provençal village, is off the beaten track, and is set back from the Rhône, several kilometres from Avignon. Behind the fortified gates of Porte Calendale and Porte de Séquier, there is a maze of little streets with splendid town houses including the Maison des Chevaliers, with its Renaissance façade. Outside the city walls, you will find a superb Château with a façade built in the Classical style, a pool and ornamental garden, which are open to the public, a reminder of the sheer wealth enjoyed by aristocratic families in the 18th century.

The wine growers of the commune of Bourdic, who have worked together as a cooperative since 1928, approached their colleagues in Saint-Maximin, a neighbouring village in Castillon-du-Gard, to pool their expertise in wine growing. Thus, they set up the small ‘Collines du Bourdic' winery inside the ancient cellars in Saint-Maximin, near the Pont du Gard. This has become the place you must visit if you wish to sample these wines from the area between Provence and Languedoc, with their scents of the garrigue. A rather private cellar with much to offer.