Wine Day in Provence

Sorgues or Seguret?? They are not comparable towns. We stopped in Sorgues first and realized that this was not the enchanting village we had envisioned - it did not make the list of "the most beautiful villages in France" though may other of our stops did. However it did have a Super U where we picked up lunch and dinner including a six pack of vin du maison. We quickly moved on to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. After a tour around the town and up to the last remaining wall of the Chateau as seen on many wine labels from the region, we stopped for our first tasting. We tasted one not so good white and with Ken's expert advice immediately moved onto the reds. The middle of the road from this group was the winner and Mary purchased a bottle. Our next stop was the wine museum which was closing in 20 min and there was no tasting, so we left. Time for lunch so we drove back to the castle we had spied on our way into town and made our own picnic. Luckily they had a degustation and a free bathroom. Sarah had a lovely conversation with the lady pouring the wine who complemented her on her excellent French. From there back towards town and a stop at the now open Clos des Papes - the best rated wine according to Wine Spectator magazine. Well worth the wait and the 5 euro tasting fee. It was so good we decided to buy a bottle regardless of the price. Ken, Sarah, Mary and Leanne drove on to Vaison-la-Romaine where there was a terrific castle at the top owned by the Comte de Toulouse. This inspired Sarah and Leanne to begin singing "I'm the king of the castle, you're the dirty rascal." We finally made it to Seguret where Susan, Doug and Margaret were ensconced having coffee and pastries enjoying the spectacular view. We were so inspired - we also stopped for coffee, tea and pastries before heading back to our villa. The quinoa greek salad was so good the other night it was requested that Mary and Margaret make it for us again. Good food, good wine and good company - doesn't get better than this!