Welcome to part 2 of my wine and cycling trip to Ventoux. It’s been an absolute blast visiting the region and making these videos, thanks to everyone involved ❤️ I’m sure I’ll be returning soon 🚴♂️🍷
Driven by dynamic winemakers and estates, the AOC Ventoux shares its terroir and promotes wine tourism across its entire region, offering preserved landscapes and diverse experiences centred on wine, nature, and culture. Awarded the Vignobles & Découvertes label since 2018, the “Autour du Ventoux” destination buzzes year-round with highlights such as the Grand Rendez-Vous des vins AOC Ventoux, Les Banquets du Géant, and Vignobles en Scène. With its hilltop villages, sites listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (Venasque, Gordes), and iconic spots like L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, AOC Ventoux is more than just a breathtaking landscape: it is a vibrant destination where wine, heritage, and nature come together to create a unique and authentic experience.
The Mont Ventoux area is also a region of varied landscapes and an iconic playground for athletes of all kinds, from cyclists to hikers and climbers. Its legendary ascent demands endurance, perseverance, and the ability to overcome challenges—qualities also embodied by the winemakers and négociants of Ventoux. The motto adopted by the Ventoux appellation, “Vivez en relief” (“Live in relief”), perfectly captures their spirit: the slogan has even become the name of their team in sporting events, with more than a dozen winemakers participating together in the Trail du Ventoux in March or the GF Mont Ventoux in June. Ventoux, a land of challenges and enjoyment, thus establishes itself as an unmissable destination for lovers of nature, culture, and shared experiences. Beyond sport, it is a true invitation to discover the AOC Ventoux!
*Please drink responsibly*
Thanks to Norman Kergoat for kindly letting me use his drone footage.
Welcome to Von Two. It’s also a fantastic place if you like trail running. And of course, if you like riding a bike, it’s probably the greatest place on earth. There’s something great about being fully immersed in an environment. You can smell all of the herbs growing by the side of the road. You can feel the currents coming down the mountain, the different weather. You can hear all of the insects and all of the birds. I think being out in the nature is the best way to truly understand a wine region. You can see the Vonu in the background. The Vonu wine region actually has two regional nature parks. Bit like national parks within the wine region. So you’ve got the Lubberon and then you’ve got the Vonu Park as well. So rather than a big barren landscape with rows and roads of vines, there’s all of this beautiful forest and gorgees and everything. And then in amongst all of that, you’ve got pockets of vineyards. Anyone who loves nature would love it here. There’s also a lot of lavender around here. You can smell it when you’re walking around. Little wafts of it in the air. They make all sorts of soaps and products with it. Here we are right in front of the vonu. And Marie’s here. She’s showing me some show me some vineyards. And there’s one vineyard here that’s got 13 different grapes. Yeah. So every single row is like a different one. Yeah. So, you’re using this as like a testing testing vineyard. You can show the name of the grape variety at the end of the row. Oh, there’s a little sign telling you what it is. Here’s my favorite grape variety in the whites. And the grape is more bigger than the ganesh also. This is a real grape masterclass. Yeah, I’m enjoying it. So, for real wine geeks, this this would be great to visit this vineyard. If you’re just passing Bedwan and you want to come and see what different leaves and grapes look like. The proximity of the hills in every direction makes a big difference. Let’s go, Ellie. Good morning. Beautiful day. Morning from the north side of Ronu. Yes, we’re in Malisen V. I found myself a couple of celebrity wine makers who also cycle and they’ve offered to do the vontto with me today. So, we’re going to have some fun and they’re going to get revenge for all of those British Tour to France winners because France hasn’t won for 40 years. Sorry about that. This is Samuel. Let’s see how he’s doing. Hi, Samuel. Yeah. Yes. Hello, Sean. You are so very easy. Yeah, it’s 11%. So, a little bit wobbly. The freshness in the wine gives the freshness in the legs, apparently. Heat. Heat. Well, I’ll try not to fall down a cliff. This is very dramatic. I I was up at the gorge Delanesque the other day. big long sections of gorges that run all the way up there. But this is like a small outlying gorge here next to James’ estate. And it actually captures some of that really cool air that descends through the gorge, that cooler air from the hills that are 700 m opposite us now. That’s falling down into the valley where our whites are particularly. And uh and with the tightness of the gorge, that cold air can’t go anywhere. So, it’s just blocked on the vines, reinforcing the freshness, but also the downside is making it a real frost trap uh for early season. Well, I’ve got me fingers crossed for you next year cuz bloody good wines. We’ve got a huge dal range here. That’s the difference between night and day temperatures. So, in the day we can have temperatures of 35° and then at night they can go all the way down to 10° or less. We’re just coming up now. I’m going to show you the Alps. Look at that. It’s incredible. Many people think that the Vontu is the only mountain around here, but it’s not the only mountain. It’s just because it’s so big. It looks like an outsider on its own. But there’s many other mountain ranges around here as well. So hilly, but if I get thirsty, I’ve got a bottle of rosé, so we’re okay. This south part of Vonu feels like it would be very hot, but there’s still some of the freshness coming from those hills over there. There’s hills on all sides and there’s all of the cooling winds that come in. You still get those lower temperatures at night.