A Provence walking holiday or a Provence cycling tour through the famous vineyards
Grape picking has begun in Provence! Slightly earlier this year than the previous years due to a rainy autumn, a dry and warm winter and exceptional sunshine and heat since spring, meaning that the grapes are fat and juicy and just perfect for picking early September.
The current health crisis is also having an impact on the wine industry. This year, there are over 600 job offers for grape picking in Provence alone, more than previous year. This is because the experienced workforce that usually arrives from European countries cannot travel this year and so wine growers are calling out for the locals to help. Students from as young as 16 can pick grapes so it’s an ideal way of making a bit of pocket money on the weekends. Certain grapes are only picked by hand such as the Chateauneuf du Pape wines, and therefore require a larger workforce. Other domains now have machines that help pick the grapes alongside hand pickers.
Walking or cycling along the wine roads of Provence
Vineyards blanket the landscape of Provence and wine has always been deeply rooted into the heart of the region and the drink of choice for the people as well as the elite. As you enjoy your Provence walking holiday or cycling holiday, many village names will be familiar as you would have seen them on wine bottle labels, Sablet, Séguret, Gigondas, Chateauneuf du Pape, to name a few.
Celebrate wine on your Provence walking or cycling trip!
There are many wine festivals that take place throughout the region from April through to end of August. In April, the festivities are destined to bless the soil and the vineyards at the start of the season. In Chateauneuf du Pape, the wine festival takes place around the first weekend in August to celebrate the ripening of the grapes. And in Avignon, there is a procession through the streets to officially declare the grape picking season open. And of course, you can sample these delicious local wines with tastings available in the cellers of the wine growing villages of Provence throughout the year.
