11:54PM | Violès | France
We took our coffee in Vaison-la-Romaine this morning, in view of the extensive, sprawling weekly market. The market is an impressive collection of vendors selling everything from meats to wicker baskets to clothes to soaps and spices. We grab a few souvenirs, then head back to Gigondas.
At 11 we meet some old friends for a tasting at their domaine just outside the village. We taste through white, rosé, and red, all familiar but somehow fresher in the place they’re made. After a quick tour of the cellars, we head to neighboring Séguret for a delightful, leisurely lunch in the same sun-filled terrace restaurant from Sunday. We drink ice cold rosé, and toast the family absent from the table; after dessert (pear aumonières, and crème caramel) and coffee, we bid adieu and head back to Violès to write a few cartes postales.
Birthday dinner a day late is at the Oustalet, a restaurant in Gigondas perfectly placed on the town square overlooking the valley. We arrive at 8pm, over an hour before sunset, as the warm evening begins to settle into night. Lights are strung between the sycamore and olive trees, and the fading sun plays beautifully off the leaves. The food is as magical as the setting: monkfish, mushroom risotto, sea bass, and foie de volaille, all prepared with minimalist elegance. For wine, a white from our Burgundian friends at Domaine de l’Arlot, and a few glasses of a local Muscat de Beaumes de Venises.
A perfect and charming end to a lovely few days in Provence, full of wine, food, markets, friends, and sun. Tomorrow north to Burgundy.
