Château Vignelaure

August 15, 2021 2

GERARD ISIRDI’S WONDERFUL ART EXHIBITION AT CHÂTEAU BARBEBELLE CLOSES SOON

Provence is abuzz this time of year with fabulous offerings of art, music, opera, film, wine tastings, and the usual fêtes that move from village to village. We traveled from New England to Provence last month specifically for this show by French painter Gérard Isirdi at Château Barbebelle in Rognes... [...]

April 14, 2021 7

FEAR AND ANGST IN THE VINES IN PROVENCE

Vineyards across France were exposed to plummeting temperatures and severe frosts last week, causing massive damage to the vines as well as other crops. The storied regions of Burgundy and Bordeaux may have captured more of the attention from mainstream journalists, but virtually every part of France was affected by temperatures that dipped as low as -8֯ Celsius (17.6֯ Fahrenheit) on as many as three nights... [...]

March 29, 2020 10

WINE PARIS 2020 FROM THE VIEW OF A PROVENCE WINE WRITER

It’s a sobering thought that Wine Paris was the last major international wine trade event in 2020. Over two months ago. Virtually every producer with whom I spoke said that the next stop was to be Prowein, scheduled... [...]

April 1, 2018 1

Diary of a Master of Wine in Provence
ProWein and Vinisud Conversations: Breaking the Stereotype of “Provence-Style Rosé”

One of the comments I often hear when going around international wine exhibitions is, ‘We make our rosé in a Provence or southern French style.’ What this means is that the wine has minimal skin contact, making a pale pink, dry wine with delicate fruit character.

This confuses me. Most producers... [...]

October 15, 2017 11

2017 HARVEST IN PROVENCE AND SOUTHERN RHÔNE: EARLY AND SMALL BUT WITH GREAT EXPECTATIONS

If you live in the South of France, you would have to be living a cave not to know that the 2017 harvest was [...]

May 28, 2017 2

April Frost Damages 25% of Château Vignelaure Vineyard

“We are lucky the damage was not worse,” Philippe Bru, Directeur Œnologue of Château Vignelaure, said of the April 29th frost that hit his vineyard, located in Rians, just north of Aix-en-Provence. “I hear that the Center of the Var was hit much worse, especially around Correns.”

That devastating frost, considered the most destructive since

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February 14, 2017 10

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WINE WRITER: VINISUD 2017

Just over two weeks ago, my husband and I landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport where we hopped aboard a TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse or, in English, France’s high-speed train) that sped south to France's eighth largest city

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May 15, 2016 9

CHÂTEAU VIGNELAURE: “THE” RED IN PROVENCE BEFORE TRÉVALLON CAME ALONG…IS BACK!

In 1987, in his introduction to Provence wines in The Wines of the Rhône Valley and Provence, legendary wine critic Robert Parker described the newly created Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence appellation in four sentences [...]

February 11, 2016 4

Château Vignelaure Rosés Coming to a Store Nearer to You this Spring

One of the unfortunate consequences of reporting on the wines from Provence is that so many of the delicious wines we enjoy while in Provence are not available in the U.S. We have been known to leave our running shoes in France to free up precious [...]

November 7, 2015 13

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
A Special Occasion

Special wines, and special foods, should be saved for special occasions. Today is the 10th anniversary of Mark's and my move to Tucson, and we wanted to celebrate in an appropriate fashion. The wine - a 2007 Château Vignelaure Coteaux d'Aix en Provence - was chosen to mark the day, and the meal to go with it had to be equally special. I chose to serve a roasted pork tenderloin crusted in Provençal herbs [...]

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