{"id":2329,"date":"2023-03-30T17:33:01","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T17:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2329"},"modified":"2023-03-30T17:47:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T17:47:24","slug":"vacqueyras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2329","title":{"rendered":"Vacqueyras"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the center of the Southern Rh\u00f4ne winemaking region lies a rather sleepy little Proven\u00e7al village called Vacqueyras (pronounced VA-kay-rass).\u00a0 [Yes, in Provence they often pronounce the final \u201cs\u201d.\u00a0 One might think it\u2019s just to confuse the Anglophones.]\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t exist, at least as it is in our times, if it were not for wine.\u00a0 The Gauls made wine there; so did the Romans; winemaking was documented in the 15th<\/sup> century; and the wines of Vacqueyras were recognized as an AOC in 1990.<\/p>\n

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The village of Vacqueyras.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of Vaucluse-Visites-Virtuel.<\/em><\/p>\n

So why visit a sleepy little village?\u00a0 There are a number of reasons.\u00a0 For one, nearly all the little villages in this C\u00f4te du Rh\u00f4ne region are rather somnolent.\u00a0 You need to go to the nearby cities of Avignon or Orange to get a little action.\u00a0 But you don\u2019t come to this sector of France for action; the attraction is the good life: blue skies, sunshine, gorgeous scenery, friendly people, superb food and, oh yes, wine.\u00a0 What Vacqueyras lacks in liveliness it makes up in charm.<\/p>\n

There are a little more than 1,000 people living in Vacqueyras, while there are 100 wineries, and heaven only knows how many small vineyards that supply their grapes to the four cooperatives within the village\u2019s borders.\u00a0 That\u2019s a very high vines-to-people ratio.\u00a0 Considering that some of those folks staff the inns and caf\u00e9s, there are even fewer to tend the grapes.<\/p>\n

Those caf\u00e9s are another reason to visit Vacqueyras.\u00a0 There just aren\u2019t that many other places to go for a meal in the area.\u00a0 We\u2019ve found only one restaurant and a snack bar in nearby Gigondas.\u00a0 There are more in Beaumes de Venise down the road and maybe one or two in Seguret.\u00a0 Appetite will take you to Vacqueyras.\u00a0 And you will be well rewarded with local fare, including fish and seafood, lamb, fresh vegetables and fruits, and if you like an omelette aux truffes<\/em> (truffle omelet).<\/p>\n

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\u201cDowntown\u201d Vacqueyras.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of Horizon Provence.<\/em><\/p>\n

The streets are lined with homes made from local beige stone, under shady trees.\u00a0 In good weather you can sit at a caf\u00e9 with some wine that may have been made within walking distance and just take in the views.\u00a0 Those views include the Dentelles de Montmirail to the east, the alpine foothills that seem to Vacqueyrasiens like lace.\u00a0 In the other direction are the seemingly endless high plains of the Terraces des Garrigues.\u00a0 Garrigues are the wild hillside herbs that abound in southern France and which add a distinctive, if hard to describe, character to the wines made there.<\/p>\n

And that wine you might be sipping is most likely to be a powerful red, with Grenache and Syrah as the dominant grapes, with Mourv\u00e8dre and Cinsault used for blending.\u00a0 (See the accompanying article in this issue on one of our favorite Vacqueyras wineries<\/a>.)\u00a0 Yes there are whites and ros\u00e9s, but the name \u201cVacqueyras\u201d inspires thoughts of deep red velvet.\u00a0 Unfairly, some of the other C\u00f4te du Rh\u00f4ne villages have grander reputations than does Vacqueyras, which enables you to buy desirable wines at lower prices than, say, Ch\u00e2teauneuf du Pape.<\/p>\n

If you are wine tasting in the Southern Rh\u00f4ne \u2013 and at some point, you ought to \u2013 make sure that Vacqueyras is a stop on your route.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the center of the Southern Rh\u00f4ne winemaking region lies a rather sleepy little Proven\u00e7al village called Vacqueyras (pronounced VA-kay-rass).\u00a0 [Yes, in Provence they often pronounce the final \u201cs\u201d.\u00a0 One might think it\u2019s just to confuse the Anglophones.]\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t exist, at least as it is in our times, if it were not for wine.\u00a0 … Continue reading Vacqueyras<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2329"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2338,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions\/2338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}