tasting provence

My husband and I recently took a trip to Europe where we divided our time between France and Italy. We had never been to Nice, France and decided to make that our home base for exploring the Cote d’Azure. We fell in love with Nice upon landing! I have cruised the Mediterranean before and dipped a toe in while in Positano, but seeing it from a whole new perspective made me love it even more. Our hotel was right along the Promenade so we got to wake up, make some coffee and sit on our balcony and watch the people swimming laps in this gorgeous blue sea. The city was so alive first thing in the morning. We loved seeing folks biking, scooting, and running along the Promenade.

We decided to make our first venture Monaco. We got on the overly crowded train to the obviously popular tourist destination. It was absolutely stunning. Someone told us that no matter how wealthy or beautiful you think you are, when you go to Monaco, you’ll be neither. So true! The sheer opulence is a bit intimidating. After exploring the casino and strolled the streets we headed to the marina where we found a charming bar and had two of the most stunningly beautiful cocktails I’ve ever seen. For lunch we hopped back on the train and got off at Villefranche where we had ceviche tacos, pesto pasta and a beautiful bottle of Provence Rose’. Light, crisp and CLEAN, the wine was a beautiful accompaniment to our meal choices.

When we returned from our first adventure, we found a local pizza place that had a 4.9 Google rating and had to check it out. Francesco’s is a one man operation a few blocks off the Promenade. Inexpensive ($8-$10 euro) for delicious, authentic pizza. We had to pair it with a grocery store bottle of wine, a Merlot from Pays d’Oc, for a mere $6 euro. We enjoyed on our balcony as we watched people return from work and start getting ready for the night.

The next morning I had to opt for my typical and favorite European breakfast—chocolate croissant and a cappuccino. I need nothing else as it is everything! It was museum day so we headed to the Matisse and Chagall Museums. They were capativating. I was especially moved at the Chagall Museum. I was familiar with the art, but did not know the story behind it. It certainly gave me a new perspective when viewing his paintings.

Afterward, we headed to Old Town Nice to try some of the street food favorites. At the market, we got to enjoy the onion tart but the line was way too long for the Socca. We headed over to the port as we had a cruise reserved later. We headed to a cute bar called Rouge and enjoyed a charcuterie board and blonde ales; both house made. It was perfect and would hold us over until dinner. The cruise was fun, but unfortunately standing room only so if you’re ok with standing shoulder to shoulder whilst vying for a visual on the sites, I’d recommend it. Walking back from the port, we had to check out the falls on Castle Hill to see Nice from so far above. That evening we ate at La Villa Massenet. We enjoyed a burrata and peach salad, pea rissotto and sea bream which paired well with a beautiful Vermentino from Provence.

Finally, the wine tour day was here! We were so lucky that our tour paired us with a lovely couple from North Carolina who loved wine tasting almost as much as we do. Our guide, Cedric, was amazing! We loaded up in the van and drove to Provence. We started our tour at Paquette. Stunning winery with relatively small production (less than 50,000 cases per year), but interesting and inventive wines. One of the most intriguing was an oaked rose. Interest was definitely peaked when we saw the green bottle so we knew something interesting was going to be in it. It turned out to be a wine with curious smoothness with lingering flavors and an interesting medium plus body. We loved all the wines and were especially grateful for having been introduced to other options than just roses. We could’ve filled our wine suitcase with just this winery, but we knew we needed to pace ourselves. Before our next winery, we had an exquisite lunch at an unsuspecting place. Stunning courtyard restaurant just off of a highway—blink and you’d miss it. We had the most delicious sea bream ever! The meal was paired with whites and rose wines. Great way to nurish ourselves so we could continue our journey. Our next winery was Domaine de Jale. I instantly fell in love with the white wine —Rolle. So crisp, but without the pucker, and vibrant. We were spoiled by doing a barrel tasting. It was incredible to taste the difference time could have on the wine. Our final stop was a much bigger and grand estate—Font du Broc. The grounds, the wine cellar, and the estate were stellar. All of this was eclipsed by the wine. I really enjoyed the red which consisted of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mouvedre and Syrah. This tour was so eye opening for me. Often times we are stuck in tradition or expectations of Provence wines being all about roses. I get it, after all over 95% of production is rose, but the AOC rules still allow for whites and reds. These are the hidden gems that you should go out of your way to taste. Beautiful, balanced and delicious—don’t overlook them!

To cap off our tasting day, we had dinner at Le Sejour Cafe which is a Michelin Star awarded restaurant in Nice. This dinner was absolutely in my top 5 lifetime meals. We each got an appetizer. I had a “crab freshness” which was almost like a savory napoleon and Bron had the Asian tuna carpaccio which literally melted in your mouth. For the main course I HAD to get the linguine with fresh lobster and Bron had the sea bream (yes, I know….again) both of which were phenomenal. The house made pasta and the richness of the lobster sauce was so decadent. Even though we were stuffed, we had to have dessert. At the ripe old age of 55 I was almost embarrassed to say I had never had a souffle so I had to go for it! It was worth the 15 minute wait. I have never had anything so light, but rich at the same time. It was an experience for sure!

Our next day we headed to Antibes. What a beautiful city; it was so pristine. We explored the gorgeous morning market. Immediately, you were hit with the aromas from the spices and then were visually treated to beautiful vegetables and fruits. We were inspired to try and find a shady place on the beach to take a picnic, but by the time we scouted out a place, the market was closing for the day. Our misfortune was actually a blessing as we had a scrumptious lunch of local favorites. I had a chickpea galette with emmental cheese, ham and an egg on top while my husband had a beautiful salad of tomatoes, burrata and proscuitto. We were both a little baffled when the cider I ordered arrived in a ceramic bowl. We had to Google why and discovered that it was the customary way to serve cider—who know? Color me intrigued.That night we ate dinner at Citrus. We enjoyed escargot, sea breem carpaccio, roasted duck with peach and cherry, and beef with sweet potato fries. Everything was sublime.

Our final day in Nice was one of leisure. We rented chairs at Bocca Beach Club. This is the way to “beach” in Nice. We had our own comfy cozy chairs close to the water. We were waited on by friendly, knowledgeable staff. We enjoyed lovely cocktails, wine, snacks and lunch and of course the absolutely beautiful Mediterranean; so warm, so clear. I didn’t want to leave.

I highly recommend a trip to Nice. I know we will be back, I hope soon.