Where to Eat, Drink and Shop Along a Rhône River Cruise

When you travel north by boat up the wide, calm Rhône River, you are following the route of the ancient Romans and so tracing the lifeline ofFrench wine. Julius Caesar’s army brought wine with them, lots of it, because who wants to subdue barbarians without a little liquid courage? Then the conquerors settled and began making their own. Their vines arrived via the Rhône, too, albeit at a time when the river had no dams—those vines would have had a much wetter and bumpier ride than my own glide from Avignon to Lyon aboard the Viking布里on the eight-day Lyon & Provence itinerary. Unlike the Romans, I had the good fortune of sleeping in a cleverly constructed stateroom, complete with a balcony from which to admire the changing landscape and time-bleached cities along the banks.

There is so much variety in the appellations along the Rhône. As we moved north, the broad, stony landscape sproutedGaletsRou​​lés，超大,root-warming石头年代oil in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and across the river in Lirac. Then the shoreline hardened and heaved higher, until we reached the vertiginous granite terraces of Hermitage and, eventually, the steep schists of Côte Rôtie. The wines altered with the view, the reds shifting from rounded, generous, Grenache-based blends to inky Syrahs, powerful and linear as an iron pole.

在船上，屋顶夏威夷酒店（Rungers and Mini Golf）不得不在运输途中关闭：rhôneBridges降到了低位，就像他们也想避免在南部葡萄园狂奔的西北米斯特拉（Northwesterly Mistral Wind）一样。（例外是Avignon著名的旧桥，Pont Saint-Bénézet，它突然停止，其跨度在河上的一半缩短了。

我们停泊在阿维尼翁（Avignon）苍白，优雅的14世纪墙壁旁边，这是由中世纪的教皇建造的，他们在逃离罗马后在这里设立了家。为什么在这里？我的怀疑是，因为出口罗恩葡萄酒的传统已经超过了罗马人，所以他们的圣洁确实已经非常喜欢被称为Châteauneuf-du-pap亚搏电竞e。

That evening, we ignored the excellent onboard wine list and handed round bottles from our day of independent tasting in Tavel. This exclusively rosé appellation was the great gastronomic writer A.J. Liebling’s favorite wine when young, broke, and living in France. The wine’s reputation has sunk, though, which is unfair. This is no pallid Provençal flower but a serious, chewy, raspberry-colored food wine that works beautifully with tomatoes and charcuterie. Soon, the Illinois couple at our table were googling Tavel purveyors in the Midwest.

We skipped the group activities to take a few other independent tasting jaunts as well. Ambre Delorme, 27, talkative and smart, has run Domaine de la Mordorée with her mother, making exceptional wines (particularly their two acclaimed Châteauneuf-du-Papes) since her father’s unexpected death in 2015 at age 52. Algerian-born Marine Roussel became a graphic designer but discovered that she “needed her roots” and now makes biodynamic wines on a shoestring at Domaine du Joncier, where she indulges her obsession with Mourvèdre.

In contrast, Le Grand Prébois, which we visited with a group from the cruise, is just one of the Perrin family’s many estates. The Perrins make Château de Beaucastel, a top Châteauneuf, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s rosé, Miraval, among many others. Sylvain, Prébois’ charming winemaker, led us around the winery, the gorgeous vaulted barrel room, and the shop. After a tasting, we paused at the original Châteauneuf-du-Pape: a papal palace, now a scenic hilltop ruin.

回到船上，我们被圣佩雷滑倒，那里的藤蔓根快乐地沉入了一个数百年历史的沉积物的凉爽高原。像TavelRosés一样，Saint-Péray闪闪发光的葡萄酒已经失去了菜，亚搏电竞但是最好的（尝试Alain Voge的Les Bulles d'Alain）是干燥的，新鲜的，充满了桃花的花朵。除了Cornas之外，我们在Tournon-Sur-Rhône停了下来，并远足了著名的Hermitage山丘，其小教堂在肮脏的Syrah Vines排中间，引导着眼睛朝着山谷的视线。茶点是在法国的洞穴de tain品尝眼镜best wine合作社,rich little lozenges of the famous chocolate at Valrhona.

One final indulgence: lunch at Le Garet, a traditionalbouchon Lyonnais.Our meal included calf’s head and the biggest, tenderest white asparagus of my life, washed down with simple Côtes du Rhône. Lyon, an important city in Roman Gaul, is still France’s wine hub, with highways west to Bordeaux and north to Beaujolais and Burgundy. But why go farther? To the south, the country’s first true road rippled gently, enticingly, back toward all the other Rhône wines we’d missed on the way up.

Viking’s Lyon & Provence eight-day itinerary from Avignon to Lyon (or vice versa) starts from $2,199 per person, based on double occupancy. All meals and some shore excursions are included; flights from the U.S. to France are not included. The Silver Spirits package is highly recommended and includes nearly all drinks beyond the complimentary wine and beer.(vikingcruises.com)

If you take the Arles shore excursion, jump in a cab toVins Fins de la Crau(12 place Dr. J. Bagnaninchi, Saint-Martin-de- Crau), a wine shop run by Mike and Liz Berry (Liz is a Master of Wine). The couple opened La Vigneronne, one of the first independents to source really interesting, unusual wines in London, back in the 1990s, and they’re still doing exactly that, just a little closer to the source.

The Viking Buri moors by Lyon’s Pont de l’Université. From there, it’s a 25-minute stroll through Old Lyon to Le Garet (see “Where to Eat,” at right), or a 20-minute walk across the Saône toAntic Wine(18 rue du Boeuf, Lyon), where Georges Dos Santos presides over an absolutely incredible stash of bottles—some cheap, some top-notch, and some very, very large (he is fond of jeroboams).

At the lovelyDomaine de la Mordorée(50 Chemin des Oliviers, Tavel), run by Ambre Delorme and her mother Madeleine, the wines—from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac, and Tavel—are all given different nicknames for the woodcock. There’s a sunny tasting room, and you can cycle through the vineyards on elec- tric bikes (book in advance).

Domaine du Joncier(5 rue de la Combe, Tavel) is run by Marine Roussel, a curly- haired Mourvèdre fancier who was born in Algeria. She and her husband economically produce biodynamic wines; an appointment for tasting is essential. But the wines are lovely, particularly the Mourvèdre-heavy Les Muses.

Cave de Tain(22 route de Larnage, Tain-l’Hermitage) is one of France’s best wine cooperatives, with wines that range from bargain bottles up to first-class Hermitage, and there’s always a wide range open to taste.

Le Grand Prébois(3333 route de Jonquières, Orange) wel- comes visitors by appointment only, but the tour, short film, and tasting are worth the visit. Owned by the Perrin family, the tasting room here offers older vintages of many of their wines, unlike the Perrin shop in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

It would be a crime to visit Lyon without eating in a bouchon Lyonnais, the meat-loving local bistros where, according to the sign outsideLe Garet(7 rue du Garet, Lyon), the owner, not the customer, is the one who’s always right. This fabulous wood-lined nook, over a century old, serves calf’s head and pigs’ feet (as well as less challenging dishes) and good, cheap local wine. You may have to share a table; you certainly need to book.

The walk up the famous hill of Hermitage isn’t hugely taxing, but that’s no reason not to have a nice lunch afterwards. There are two excellent options: First,Le Mangevins(7 rue des Herbes, Tain-l’Hermitage), a favorite of local winemakers. The wine list is amazing, and the Mediterranean food excellent. Or cross the bridge to Tournon and tryAssemblage(56 avenue Maréchal Foch, Tournon-sur-Rhône), which serves fresh produce with a few exotic touches in a relaxed vibe that reflects the chef’s many years spent in Argentina.

La Mirande(4 place de l’Amirande, Avignon), an 18th-century townhouse right next door to the Popes’ Palace, is now a beautiful little hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant that makes great use of the bountiful southern produce; it also has a beautiful garden and an excellent wine list.