This month the Winophiles are celebrating Summer in Provence. Host, Linda Whipple of My Full Wine Glass prompted this month’s topic with the following:

Summer in Provence conjures up images of lavender fields, olive trees and, bien sûr, wine – rosé, to be precise. Of the 123 million bottles of wine produced each year in warm, sunny Provence, 90% are rosé. Yet, Provence is also a producer of reds and whites. For our French Winophiles virtual summer in Provence, choose any style you like from any of the nine wine regions and join the fun!

Nestled between the coastline of Mediterranean Sea, called the Core d’Azure, and the foothills of the Alps, the region covers about 200 kilometers. The climate is hot and sunny during the Summer and the short winter season can be quite cold. Inland regions at elevation might even see snow! This is rare, as is rain, but when it does rain it is usually torrential. The climate of Provence cannot be discussed without talking about the howling and sometimes violent Mistral winds. The Mistral has been blamed for causing actual mental distress in humans, but the grape vines love these strong winds that deter pests and rot, making the climate ideal for viticulture.

Such ideal growing conditions make organic and sustainable growing practices a reachable goal. Organic and HEV certified vineyards continue to grow each year, and Provence has committed to having 100% organic or HEV certified vineyards by 2030. Cheers to that!

Provence By he Numbers:

• 28,000 hectacres of vineyards
• 528 producers (473 wineries/55 cooperatives
• Annual production equivalent to approximately 167 million bottles
• 39% of production is exported with the United States being it’s biggest customer
• Rosé represents 92% of wines produced in 2021

There are nine wine regions within Provence. The three largest account for 96% of production: Cotes de Provence, Aix, and Varois. In addition to these three, there are six others: Baux, Bandol, Cassis, Palette, Bellet, and Pierrevert. White and red wines are made in Provence, but the only regions known for anything other than rosé are Cassis and Palette, known for white wines, and Bandol, known for red. These regions also make rosé, but are known for the scarcly produced white and red wines of Provence. Bandol in particular is known for red wines made from Mouvedre dominant blends, but even here the red wines only represent 13% of production.

White wines represent just 4-5% of total production for both Provence and Bandol. This is according to 2021 numbers published by the professional consortium for each region. Although known for its red wines, Bandol still produces 77% rosé.

Ugh, its Summer, that’s enough with the numbers and percentages already – school is out!

Last summer I had the amazing opportunity to visit an iconic winery located in Bandol called Domaine Tempier. If you’ve ever read Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route, then you are familiar with this producer. Or, maybe you are just a French wine lover, and are familiar with this producer. I’ve been hording the bottles of wine that I purchased on my visit because they feel like treasure. If you would like to read more about that visit specifically, click here.

They feel like treasure, not just because this visit itself was an incredible experience, but because we had quite the adventure getting there. ProTip: When driving through small French villages make sure your Google map is set to drive and not walk. True story.

Near death experiences aside, to have visited and purchased wine at this iconic estate is a “pinch me” moment and I wasn’t willing to open one of these bottles willy nilly. I also don’t want to hold onto them forever, so I chose the Domaine Tempier Bandol Blanc for this month’s #winophile event. So let’s get to tit!

Domaine Tempier|Bandol Blanc|2021|13% ABV|$62.00

The history of this Domaine and the Tempier family dates back to 1834. I’ve written more about the history in the above linked post. The modern history of Domaine Tempier really begins in 1936 when Lucie (Lulu) Tempier marries Lucien Peyraud. Lulu’s father, a business man who spent most of his time in Marseille, gave Domaine Tempier to the couple as a wedding gift. The couple moved to the Domaine in 1940, and although Lucien had studied agriculture and dreamed of making wine, the move was due more to difficulties presented by the beginning of what would become WWII.

The devotion, love, and hard work that Lulu and Lucien put into the vineyards, the wines, and the region as whole is like the perfect love story sprinkled with the magic of universal divine intervention.

The Peyrauds worked tirelessly, but by all accounts loved every moment of the life they were creating, including the addition of seven children! One of those children, would be the reason for the wine I’m featuring – keep reading!

The Bandol AOC was created in 1941, thanks to the efforts of the Peyrauds and a handful of other winemakers. Lulu was known as a wonderful host and entertainer, and Lucien created magnificent wines. Between the two of them, tiny little Bandol found itself on the world stage. The wines gained a cult like following in France, and eventually the rest of the world. The Domaine is now managed by Daniel Ravier, however, the Peyraud family still maintains an active role.

The first wine made by Lucien was a 1943 rosé. The red came in 1951. Perhaps no other Bandol producer is more known for their red wines than Domaine Tempier. Their offerings consist of four distinct red wines, one white and one rose.

What about this white wine though? I could not locate the history of this Bandol Blanc so I reached out to the winery. I was so happily surprised with an almost immediate response. This email came from Daniel, and I can only assume this is Monsieur Ravier – how gracious is that?

The first vintage of Bandol Blanc was not until 1988 and was the effort of Lucien and Lulu’s son, Francois. According to Daniel’s email, Lucien was not so excited about this white wine idea. Francois must have convinced his Dad, and the Bandol Blanc was produced. Daniel added that he does not recall a white wine with a Bandol label prior to this, so Francois perhaps has a historically significant credit to his name.

I am very glad Francois wanted a white wine because this one is not only delicious, it is incredibly unique. Before we get into that, lets talk about how these grapes became wine.

Bandol sits along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, like an amphitheater of terraced vineyards. Domaine Tempier produces wine only from its own vineyards, including a newly purchased vineyard – La Laidiere – in 2016. The purchase was the result of the Domaine never having enough wine to sell and allowed them to increase production of their white and rose wine.

The vineyards have been farmed organically since the beginning, but have also been biodynamic for about 10 years. The grapes for this wine are: 60% Clairette, 30% Ugni Blanc, and completed with Rolle, Bourboulenc, and Marsanne. The grapes are hand harvested and fermented in tanks before aging in foudre for10 months prior to bottling.

So what to pair with such a rare wine? I used this beautiful cookbook gifted to me by my friend Nancy Pillar. She knew that I had just visited this area and was purging her home of things she no longer used or needed. I was so delighted that she thought of me to gift this cookbook to – especially when I opened it to see the exact same pictures that I myself had taken on my visit! Goosebumps.

I think friends are also associated with summertime, at least in our youth. Even as adults we make more time to play in the summer – the days are longer making us feel like we have more time than we do in the winter months.

One of the things that keeps me enamored with all things French is not just the elegance of the culture, but the simplicity of it. You eat what is fresh and in season. Simple. It is hot in the Summer months there, as it is here, so I chose to make things that required very little effort and very little heat: Grilled Marinated Peppers with Burrata and Breadcrumbs, and tomato bruschetta Provencal.

The recipe to the peppers is linked. I sprinkled fresh, Thai basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme on top to finish the peppers. Although not from this cookbook, I was inspired by it. Fresh vegetables rule Summer tables everywhere.

It might seem odd that both of my recipes are Italian, but I was very surprised at the amount of burrata we saw on menus everywhere when we visited. From Lyon to Cassis, burrata seemed to be a staple. I guess it makes sense since you can follow the coastline right into Italy. If you make the peppers, don’t forget the fresh sourdough bread crumbs toasted in butter – tres magnifique!

The tomatoes are just me getting creative with a basic recipe I make often. For the brushetta, I used Herbs de Provence instead of basil, and goat cheese crumbles instead of Parmesean. I also added ground white pepper and used a rosemary and lavender salt, plus some fresh thyme sprinkled over the top. Voila – French Totmato Bruschetta! Call it French diced tomatoes mini tartine if you wish.

I have to tell you this wine was gorgeous by itself but it was absolutely amazing with both of these dishes.

Aromas of citrus, stone, salinity, garrigue and maybe a bit of grapefruit pith. As it opened I got a honey aroma and very subtle floral notes. On the palette I got tangerine, with the salinity and garrigue carrying over. There was also a whisp of honey but not in a sweet way, somehow savory if honey can be savory. I would call this wine full bodied with a beautiful crisp acidity. It just got better as time went on.

It was absolutely perfect with both of these dishes. They each played completely differently with the wine. The tomatoes had that bright goat cheese that really went well, but then the peppers had the char and the creamy burrata and fresh herbs that just sung with it. It was hard to know which bite to take next, truly a memorable pairing.

I love traveling virtually through my wine glass, and I was momentarily transported back to last Summer and Provence. . If you’d like to continue on these virtual trips, grab a glass of wine and read the articles from the rest of the #winophiles this month.

• “Wishing I were spending Summer in Provence with a Roche Bellemont Rose” on A Day in the Life on the Farm
• “Summertime Lobster Roll and a Provence Rosè” on Our Good Life
• “Summertime and the Living is Easy. Especially in Provençe” on Side Hustle Wino
• More than Rosé: Pairing a Provençal Red with a Smoked Paprika-Rubbed Pork Chop on Culinary Cam
• “A Taste of Provence: Food and Wine Pairings” on Always Ravenous
• “French Rosé Wine from Provence and beyond” on Wine Predator
• “Mourvèdre rules Bandol vineyards during summer in Provence” on My Full Wine Glass

---

Resources:

Vins de Bandol

Vins de Provence

Domaine Tempier