September 29, 2015
From Orange to Avignon: Through the vineyards of Chateauneuf- du- Pape
We had only a short ride today to get to Avignon but it was a ride with so much interest. We went on a route that took us through Chateau Neuf de Pape. There were vineyards as far as the eye could see and in the background we could see Mt Ventous - I rather wish I was 40years younger and could have a go at riding up it. The grapes in this area are trained rather differently, there is no trellising or stakes, they are just supported by their own trunks. They call this goblet training. The ground under the grapes just looks like a pile of stones. All over the vineyards were groups of vans as picking was in full flight. Each group of pickers had about 30 people. They are extremely fussy about what they are picking and any less than perfect fruit are left behind. The fruit is transferred to buckets on the back of the tractors and these are looked over by women doing the final quality control. Often too when the grapes get to the winery they go along a screening table before reaching the crusher destemmer and more grapes are discarded. All the Syrah had been picked so what was being picked now was either Granache or Mouverdre. There was a lot of climbing and then it was downhill to the charming village. There were tractors with loads of grapes rushing every where and every second place was advertising wine tasting and sales, in fact it was quite hard to find some place selling something as ordinary as a cup of coffee. Coming down the hill I spotted a Wine Museum so in we went. It was actually run by one of the producers Brott and was absolutely superb. The commentary we got as we went round was great - simple and very informative. I now feel I now a lot about wine production in the area. At the conclusion we were offered wine tasting but not something we like to do when we are riding so just bought a bottle to try later. While we were there 2 tour groups came in for tastings. All this was free and I think must be a great success on the marketing front.
After this the road was basically all down hill to Avignon. The road got unpleasantly busy as everything concentrated into Avignon and we were certainly pleased when we got to a cycle way beside the University and the Old Town Walls. Once more we are staying in an Ibis Budget, it is just outside the town walls and once again we have been given a disability room so there is masses of room for us and the bikes. We have explored the town and walked to the Palace of Papes and found a Lavarie. Back we went with all our dirty clothes eventually found how to work the machines much to the amusement of Newton a charming Brazilian who was also doing his washing. We had such fun talking to him. When the next group of non French speakers came in we felt like pros as we gave them the benefit of our new found knowledge.
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Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 3,038 km (1,887 miles)
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