Cassis Wines

In a little alley down the street from Nino, Le Chai Cassidain is a shop and wine bar that stocks all the best local wines, including those of the 12 different vineyards of Cassis, which has its own appellation d’origine controlée. A subtle and distinctive white wine, AOC Cassis is blended from five different grape varietals. “Cassis whites are quite particular because of the shallow soil, which gives a mineral, flinty taste,” says Le Chai proprietor Jean-Loup Wandowski. Nineteenth-century Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral was exuberant about it: “Oh, if only you could taste it!  No bee could make a sweeter honey, it shines like a diamond, it is fragrant with the scents of the rosemary, heather and myrtle bedecking our hillsides…and it dances in the glass.” 6 rue Séverin Icard, 04.42.01.99.80

Among the best vineyards:

Le Clos Ste-Magdeleine, ave Revestel (walking distance from the village) 04.42.01.70.28

Le Clos Val Bruyère Château Barbanua, ave Anatole France, Roquefort la Bédoule, 04.42.73.14.60

Le Domaine St-Louis Chemin de la Dona, 04.42.01.30.31

Le Domaine du Bagnol 12 ave de Provence, 04.42.01.78.05

Le Château de Fontcreuse 13 route Pierre Imbert, 04.42.01.71.09