Château La Coste This vineyard is found just outside of Aix-en-Provence, near the town of Puy-Sainte-Réparade. It is not to be confused with the town of Lacoste (that will be another post). Paddy McKillen, a wealthy Irishman, purchased the old bastide and surrounding land in 2002. He is a man …

Launched in 1995, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) Les Baux de Provence was a bold step for a dozen winemakers. They joined forces in an attempt to carve out a unique identity in the ocean of mediocre (at the time) Provencal wine. These wineries had fallen under the umbrella of the …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: This post may be a little longer than usual…but that is a reflection of the wide variety of activities at Aix’s ‘English Bubble’. Even if you’ve heard of it, you may not realise just how much manager Melina offers there…and this info may well be worth …

Contributor blog post by Jeany Cronk @MirabeauWine: Somehow salads get short shrift in winter, yet this is probably the time when we need vitamins the most to get through the cold period. I enjoy eating and making salads all year round and like to add richer ingredients in autumn and …

I was having a delicious dinner with a girlfriend when she reminded me of something I hadn’t thought about in ages. We met working at an advertising agency many, many years ago. I had just moved to Calgary from Toronto, it was August and I was desperately missing my end-of-summer …

Liz Lord and her husband Mel run an annual tour called Hidden Provence, based out of a private home near Forcalquier guests spend 8 nights (7 days) together exploring an “unspoilt area of Provence.” Liz wrote the following post after they finished the guided trip, but before the memories of …

Contributor blog post by Jill Barth: I love, adore, gobble, guzzle, stockpile and yak about Rhone reds. I find them to be incredibly drinkable and a compelling source of wine fascination. If only lightly familiar with French wines, Champagne or Burgundy probably pop into your mind when conversation turns to …

People are often surprised that most wines are blends, and even more surprised that even single-grape variety bottles are blends from different tanks. In Provence, it’s the law of our appellation that wines are blends from the local varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan. A good …Continue reading here …

Contributor blog post by Mirabeau Wine: Taking a punt – according to most dictionaries – means to take a chance, to give something a go, place a bet, or even… to take a flat-bottomed ferry boat. You could also be handed a long pole and then ushered onto a long …

There was little chance of being lost at sea, our skipper (rental boat) had a difficult time finding a place to anchor between the mega-yachts and the zodiacs that were supplying hot pizza and cold drinks to the flotilla. Just 15 minutes by ferry from Cannes, the two Lérins islands, …