Avignon, a regional center, the gate to enter the Southern Rhone. It must be the paradise for wine enthusiasts interested in the Rhone. What are the options for the wine lover, who seeks the opportunity to explore the region’s wines, who wants to compare a glass of Cairanne to a Rasteau and then to a Gigondas? Surely, fancy restaurants might offer a great selection of wines but that’s a different business. There is probably only one place in town offering what we are looking for: Le Vin Deviant Soi.

It’s a wine shop and a wine bar in one, equipped with probably best tool for our purpose: an Enomatic wine pouring system. They are sadly the only one in Avignon who has this amazing machinery, as I learned, and if memory serves well, they were the first in France to get one. There are 32 wines and spirits one can try from these (choosing from three different pouring quantities — I went for the tiniest quantity, it worked well for my educational purposes, for 20 Euros I was able to taste a satisfying number of wines). The shop owner speaks fluent English, and after some glasses, we had a nice conversation, not just about Rhone reds, but how and what the French drink, and so on. I had a good time there, I highly recommend visiting it. It’s in the city center, open 7/7 days, just keep in mind that tasting is only possible until 19:30.

(Update for those finding this guide from 2013: the other enoteca, Avitus is now closed.)

 

https://girlsgottadrink.com/guide-to-drinking-buying-wine-in-avignon-france/