Things to do in Beaumes-de-Venise, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur: The Best Food & Drink

Xavier vins - Du Beaumes au Coeur is a boutique negociant offering the best of Southern Rhône appellations: Côtes du Rhône, Ventoux, Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Chateauneuf du Pape. Free tasting 7/7 April to November.

A family estate for five generations, we still have one bottle of 1847 Muscat that demonstrates just how old it is. We started making wine at the beginning of the 19th Century at Domaine des Bernardins. The property was previously owned by Bernardin monks before being transformed into a wine estate. Mr Louis Castaud was the first one to show real concern about how the village’s traditional production had almost disappeared and achieved appellation status for Muscat de Beaumes de Venise in 1945 after 10 years of hard work. His family were able to make Domaine des Bernardins thrive by combining know-how and traditional values. Today his daughter Renée Castaud is still active in day-to-day life at the estate. His granddaughter Elisabeth, her husband Andrew Hall and their son Romain now make this wine that’s part of the family history.AOC Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2011 : Pale amber. Real interest on the nose. Good balance in an unconventional style. Big and bold. Neat and sweet with a dry finish. 17/20 Jancis Robinson

The origin of the vineyards of Beaumes-de-Venise is very old; the history of its wines can be traced back to 600 years before Christ, when a Greek community moved into the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail. The first vines from the Domaine de Coyeux date back to the 1950s. The estate was taken over in 2013 by Hugues de Feraudy, whose family was already established in Vaucluse in the tenth century. Located on the southern side of the Dentelles de Montmirail, the Domaine de Coyeux is comprised of one continuous area of 112 hectares. - The estate combines: ✓ Very well-known Trias soil types characterized by pores filled with clay which capture the winter water from the soil that when released in the summer will nourish the root system of the vines, thus leaving grape berries that thirst for the sun. ✓ Planted in an ideal location, the mountains of Coyeux (altitude 300m) provide air currents which bring freshness in the summer, contributing to healthy grapes and delicate aromatic wines. ✓ A climate dominated by the famous mistral winds. Coming from the north, this wind occurs only a few hours after a rainfall, leaving time for the vines to absorb its benefits while minimizing the risks of the proliferation of parasites by rapidly drying the foliage. The landscapes of Domaine de Coyeux are exceptional; the rocky blades of the Dentelles de Montmirail are within sight just a few hundred meters away. Mont Ventoux, snowy in winter, gives the impression of being at your fingertips. Calm reigns around the mountains of Coyeux. The destiny of the estate is to be at the top. In the past, its Muscat was classified > by Robert Parker.