Lunch (and wine, of course!) in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Our drive from Lyon to Avignon took us past Châteauneuf-du-Pape, so naturally we had to stop at this famous wine town.

After stumbling upon a prime parking spot, we walked up the street to the town square to choose a restaurant for lunch.  La Part des Anges won out – I was tempted by the cold melon velouté with éclats de chevre, with its charmingly literal English translation, “softness of melon in the brightness of goat.”

The translation isn’t really as silly as it sounds – “éclat” can mean “burst” and be used to describe fragments (of cheese, hazelnuts, etc), but the most common meaning is “brightness.”

We waited just a few minutes for a table tucked against the building, in the shade of the terrace and with a peekaboo view of the valley below us.

My melon velouté was perfectly simple – just cold, sweet puréed melon, with creaminess from chèvre and a herbal note from torn basil.  To continue the fresh theme, I also had a tarte fine with cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinegar (basically a thin crust topped with salad and tomatoes on the vine).

Naturally we had a Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine, from Olivier Hillaire – a very nice example of the appellation.

After lunch we took a walk up the hill through the village to the ruins of the Pope’s castle (almost completely destroyed by retreating German troops during WWII).

Next we headed to the Musee du Vin (“wine museum”), run by the Brotte winery, to check out the displays of vintage winemaking equipment and, of course, do a little tasting.

We tasted a series of wines, a few whites and then some reds – earning our pours by answering wine trivia posed by our host.  The basic tasting is free, and for more interested customers, they’re happy to bring out some extra bottles.

We tried a sweet, floral Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and bought a bottle to take home, and also tasted some marc, a brandy made from Grenache.

We ended up spending most of the day in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a bit longer than planned – but it was well worth the time!