Postcards to Rick Steves |
Some of my best Food & Wine experiences happened outside of group meals and restaurants. You can read about the special lunch at Domaine de Mourchon here, and my cooking classes here. You can also learn about the local Bacchus festival below.
FOOD
Just as our landscape has shifted from mountains and rain to countryside and sun, the cuisine has shifted from the rich, cheesy traditions of the Alps to a Provencal focus on garlic, olive oil, and herbs. Fresh food dominates the local diet here, and the heavy meals are instead often replaced by several lighter courses (think appetizers).
Local specialties include: -Tapenade (a pureed olive/anchovy/herbs blend) -Aioli (garlic mayonnaise) -Vegetables, especially eggplant, tomatoes, and zucchini. -Meat: lamb, rabbit, and taureau (bull meat -- actually very good!). Locals tell me the beef here isn't as good as in other parts of France. -Goat cheese -Desserts, including clafoutis (a semi-sweet custard-like dish, often with cherries). PROVENCAL TIP: Slow down! Life (and meals) here are meant to be savored. Dinner is included and served at our hotel two nights in Vaison! Combined with our amazing lunch at Mourchon, Rick has left us well-fed here. Enjoying many bottles of the local wine not only enhances our meal, but encourages conversation! We share travel stories, jokes, and lots and lots of laughter! Tradition holds that not looking your partner in the eye during a toast means seven years of bad sex... so you better believe we made sure to make eye contact the rest of the trip! |
FOOD/COOKING/WINE TIPS I LEARNED IN PROVENCE:
-A spoonful of olive oil is good for the stomach! -Cutting strawberries releases the sugars. Try them sliced vs. whole. -Lavendar is a good deterrent to bugs and mosquitos. Since moths don't like it, you can put a lavendar sachet in your closet! -Cut tomatoes with a ceramic (not a steel) knife. No metal means no rust; ceramic is not as porous so odors won't transfer between foods; and since there are little pores, a quick rinse in warm water will get your ceramic knife a lot cleaner than a thorough scrubbing of a metal knife. Slicing fruits and vegetables with a steel knife causes quick discoloration because the acid reacts to the metal ions in steel blades. Fruits don’t oxidize and turn brown as fast when cut with ceramic knives. |
WINE
Provence is ideal for growing wine! During our tour we become very familiar with Côtes du Rhône wine. While you will find both white and red wines, including the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape, be sure to try the crisp and fruity rosés (different than rosés here; many French people I met described ours as "bubble gum" or "cough syrup).
The most popular grapes grown around here are Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah (red); and Roussanne and Marsanne (white). Wine aficionados (and photographers) can tour several cute villages, like Seguret, around Vaison. Just know how to communicate your wine preferences in French, as wine tasting here is more serious than in the States. Our tour includes a stop at the famous Domaine de Mourchon (at least eight tastes, I lost count!), whose friendly and English-speaking staff gave us a lesson in Provencal wine-making, production, and distribution. |
FUN FACTS:
-The clay in Mourchon's terroir retains moisture, ideal for grape growing. -The southern wind brings humidity and sand from Africa ("but not camels"). |
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BACCHUS FESTIVAL
The annual Bacchus festival in Vaison celebrates young winemakers in the region. (Bacchus was the Roman god of wine.) For a small fee, you get a wine glass and unlimited tastings of recent vintages, mostly from up-and-coming talents under the age of 35! (For an extra charge you can have dinner, including roast suckling pig.) The event is held right in the Roman excavations, and the locals even dress in traditional Roman garb, light torches, and march through town to the festival! Fellow wine lover Rick and I take the walk down and enjoy an evening sampling and discussing many varieties of wine with each others and the growers. How lucky we were to be in town for this authentically local event!
WORLD CUP UPDATE: Germany rips through Brazil to win 7-1! |