The 14th-century summer residence of the Avignon Popes (the name literally means the “Pope’s new castle”), Châteauneuf du Pape now exists primarily as a place to taste and buy its famous Côtes de Rhône wine – with an opportunity to do both seemingly every 50 feet. Dominated by the towering ruins of the Papal summer palace (destroyed in WWII), the town’s narrow streets of golden medieval houses, with their red tile roofs and pastel shutters, wind down into the vineyards. There are pleasant and relatively undemanding opportunities for hiking and cycling through the vineyards and along the Rhône. A local circuit for walkers loops through the vineyards and along the river, passing several lovely wine estates. Information on local paths is available from the Tourist Information Office.
Getting Here: 18 km/11 miles north of Avignon. From Avignon, take the N7 north to the D66. Turn left (west) on the D66 and follow signposts. Nearest local rail service: Sorgues (4½ miles) or Orange (eight miles).
More Information: Tourist Office, Place du Portail, 84230, Châteauneuf du Pape, ☎ 33 04 90 83 71 08, fax 33 04 90 83 50 34, tourisme-chato9-pape@wanadoo.fr, http://perso.wanadoo.fr/otchato9-pape.
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Please help improve this article by adding more general information. (October 2009)
Châteauneuf-du-Pape translates as "New Castle of the Pope," and indeed, the history of this commune and its wine is firmly entwined with papal history. In 1308, Pope Clement V, former Archbishop of Bordeaux, relocated the papacy to the city of Avignon. Clement V and subsequent "Avignon Popes" were said to be great lovers of wine and did much to promote it during the seventy-year duration of the Avignon Papacy. At the time, winegrowing around the town of Avignon was anything but illustrious. While the Avignon Papacy did much to advance the reputation of wines from Burgundy, the papacy also promoted viticulture in the surrounding area, more specifically the area 5–10 km north of Avignon, close to the banks of the Rhône River. Prior to the Avignon Papacy, viticulture of the area had been initiated and maintained by the Bishops of Avignon, largely for local consumption.
Clement V was succeeded by John XXII, who regularly drank the wines from the vineyards to the north, as well as Burgundy wine, and did much to improve viticultural practices there. Under John XXII, the wines of this area came to be known as "Vin du Pape"; this term later became Châteauneuf-du-Pape. John XXII is also responsible for erecting the famous castle that stands as a symbol for the appellation.
The village and three other surrounding communes produce wine, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in the southern Rhône wine region. Unlike its northern Rhône neighbors, Châteauneuf-du-Pape permits thirteen different varieties of grape; the blend is usually predominantly Grenache. Other red grapes include Cinsault, Counoise, Mourvèdre, Muscardin, Syrah, Terret Noir, and Vaccarèse. White grapes include Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picardin, Roussanne, and Picpoul. In recent years, the trend has been to include fewer (or even none) of the allowed white varieties and rely heavily (or solely) upon the Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah. One may suspect that this is a response to international wine-market trends and the desire to have this sometimes-rustic wine appeal to a broader commercial audience.
Before wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. began promoting them, the wines of Châteauneuf were considered rustic and of limited appeal in the U.S. However, his influence increased their price more than fourfold in a decade. In gratitude, the Châteauneuf Winemakers Union pushed for his becoming an honorary citizen of the village.
