Explore the fruit of Avignon’s olive groves and vineyards

I'm herding them. Am I the dog that's herding? I have no idea what we're doing. I'm Jean Glock, Vikings Ambassador-at-Large, and I want to invite you to join me on one of my favorite river itineraries. I'm in Provence right now. We're sailing from Avignon north to Lyon. We're going to see many iconic sites that you've read about. But on this trip, I hope we can dig a little deeper, using Vikings contacts to discover more of what makes the French so deliciously French, the joie de vivre that we all want to take home with us when we come. I know you've heard of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and we'll see quite a few on this trip. But have you heard of UNESCO's cultural heritage designations? These are those things that give the country, meld with their history, and to give it the feeling and the senses that you feel when you travel, that really create the memories you take home. One of those UNESCO cultural heritage designations is the French gastronomic meal. It doesn't seem so intangible. They call them intangible cultural heritage designations. But let's find out why that part of their cultural history, how it's evolved, why it has become such an institution worldwide. Another that's nominated and not yet formally recognized is the French baguette. Again, not very intangible to me, but the history of how it developed, why it developed. That's what we're going to look into and discover France on a little deeper level as we sail up the Rhone River. So many things to discover beyond food, but what makes France somewhere we all want to visit and take those memories home with us? Thanks for joining me. Today, we're in Chateau Neuf-du-Pape. This may not be what you think of when you hear Chateau Neuf-du-Pape, but this is the Chateau Neuf, the new chateau of the popes. And when the papacy moved to Avignon in the 14th century, this was their summer home where they built their vineyards. But we're not here for that today. Today, we want to learn about the most famous in the world wine of Chateau Neuf-du-Pape. And thankfully, I have a wonderful expert to join us and teach us why the wines of this region are so renowned and so delicious. Pauline, thank you for joining us today. And to teach us about all we need to know about Chateau Neuf-du-Pape wines. Welcome to Chateau Neuf-du-Pape, Jane. It's pretty windy today. It's very windy today. Yeah, it's really windy. This wind, we call it Mistral, the master of the wind. It's the protection of all the winemakers in all the Rhone Valley, to be honest. Is that mystical protection or actual? It's protecting us because it's coming like this usually after rainfall. It was raining two days ago and now it's drying everything. So, less humidity during the summer with the heat like this means less disease. And during the winter, it's also less frost for us. So, really, this wind is really important for us. Well, God bless the Mistral. Of course. But you know what? To give you a secret, it's pretty quiet for us, this kind of… Yes. You can go to 100, 110, 120 sometimes, which is stronger wind. And today is about… It's about 40, 50 kilometers. Sufficient for me. Exactly. And I hope the vines. Yes, it's really great for the vines. Another element which is really, really famous, and I would like to talk to you about, is this kind of rocks that we have down here. These? These ones, yes. I've never seen vineyards with this many rocks. Yeah, and there is not too much on these fields, to be honest, because sometimes you can have more than that. 70% of the soil sometimes is just made in with that. So… They're very warm. They're really warm. This is really a good point, Jeanne, because this one keeps the heat during the day and restores to the floor during the night, during the winter. It's a protection for the frost during the winter. So that's how they protect the vines. Yes, and also during the winter, during the summer, is making more maturation of our fruits before to harvest them. Because, you see, the fruits are really close to the ground. Yes. Because of the wind. We couldn't make it too high anyway. Obviously. It's going to fall. And so the fruits are really close to them. So they make more maturation. It's like a little sense that we have everywhere on the floor. The magic of the wind, the magic of the rocks. Nature gives us beautiful conditions to grow our vines here, to be honest. My little bit of wine knowledge knows that you blend wines in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. And tell me about that. How many varieties? Are they always blended? We do, yes, most of the time we do blending. Like 90% of the time is blending wine. And one of the 13 different types of grapes that we grow up here is really famous. We call it Grenache. Grenache. It's the god of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We have a little private joke. We say, in Grenache we trust. In Grenache we trust. Can you show me Grenache vines? Let's go. Or maybe the other 12 as well. Let's go. So now, Jen, we are inside the vineyard, in the middle of the Grenache. This is beautiful. Is it? Apart from the taste, to be here in this view in the valleys. These vines look so old. How old would you estimate that vine is? I think this vine is pretty much around 20 or 30 years old. I think so. It's close to being an old vine. You can see how are the vines at the beginning. We call that gnarly. Gnarly. So yes, the Grenache is really important here. It represents 50% minimum all the time in each bottle of red Chateauneuf-du-Pape. So if you have a bottle of red, you know it's 50% Grenache. Yeah, minimum. Because we don't have to put 50% systematically, but this is the identity of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. How you can recognize the taste of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it's also because of this Grenache. And what is the unique taste of the Grenache? Grenache really tastes something like really it's a beautiful combination between something fruity and spicy. We say spicy fruit, you know, like something a little bit peppery and cherries and everything. So yes, this is a good, beautiful example about a beautiful plant. Can I go look at it? Of course you can. If I can climb over the rocks, tell me, is it ready to harvest? Absolutely not. Not right now. Absolutely not. No, we have to leave it on the vines, of course. Because at this time, you see, you have also some green ones sometimes. I see them. Need a little bit more juice inside, so more chan. So normally the harvest time is around end of August, beginning of September. They begin to look like raisins. Yes, they have to, yeah. Pauline, I've enjoyed the lesson, the mistral, the magic rocks, harvest time. I think you want to try it now. I do, very much. Let's get to doing it. Thank you. We left the vineyards after a windy morning, during which Pauline had taught me so much. I learned that Chateau Neuf-du-Pape is not only a wine appellation that includes 320 vineyards, but a region and the medieval chateau that the popes used as a summer home. Felt the warmth of the galets roulés, or small rocks, critical in retaining heat. And I certainly felt the mistral, or wind, which dries the vines after rains. But on to the highlight of our visit, where we donned aprons before tasting the world famous wines at the Maison Boisson. So welcome to Maison Boisson, Jane, and welcome in one of the oldest houses in Chateau Neuf-du-Pape. It's beautiful. Yes, looks like pretty new because we rebuilt it, but like you can see on the front barrel, we start in 1898 here. One family? One family. The first family was called Boisson, meaning little piece of wood, because they were barrel makers first. Of course. So they call it little piece of wood. So we have to drink our beautiful wine now, and I would like to talk to you about the secrets that we have in Chateau Neuf-du-Pape. I want to hear the secrets. Because, I don't know if you know it, Jane, but we produce a little teeny percentage of white Chateau Neuf-du-Pape. I have never heard of white Chateau Neuf-du-Pape. I know, I know, because that represents all the time, like I mean, less than 5% of our production, and nobody under 365 winemakers exports the white wine. So there's no exported white Chateau Neuf-du-Pape. No. So this is very exclusive. They don't export because there's so little, or because it's such a treasure? It's a little bit both, to be honest. There's not enough quantity to export, because when I say 5%, that represents for all the production, but each winemaker produces only less than 1% of white, and it's an extremely good quality. So it's a secret. I can't wait. Should we start with white or start with red? We're going to start with white, yes, because reds are pretty tannic here, so it's better to have not too much hemp added in the mouth. That sounds beautiful. Thank you. So when we're tasting wine, what I say all the time, that it's better to take the glass only by the stem, usually. Not like this or not like that. Otherwise, we're going to warm the glass, and we're going to less feel the flavors that we have inside, more the alcohol sensation. So this is why, anyway. So like you can see, you have beautiful colors, really transparent wine. Really, really transparent. Meaning, usually, that it's a young wine. Okay. So when was this bottled? So this bottle is picked, I mean the grapes are picked in 2020. Oh, okay. Very young. Two years ago. Okay. Yeah, because like I said before, we harvest in September, so it's going to be two years only in September. If you smell the first bouquet, it's pretty sweet, this kind of smell. Very sweet. We can recognize some pear or some green apple like this, that we can recognize. But you know what? It's better flavors, I mean it's stronger sensation if you turn a little bit the wine before. Yeah, perfect. You can also use the barrels, which is also good to do some circle like this. I like that. Yeah. And what I say all the time, after a couple of glasses, less dangerous on the table anyway. That's great advice. And you brought one of the rocks from the vineyard, the magic rocks. Yeah, we have all the time one closer than hers. And now you can smell it, it's stronger perfume. And what we didn't smell before, but now it's done, it's the white flowers. We have a type of grapes called a roussade, which is pretty flowery. Definitely, and less sweet smelling. Exactly, less sweet smelling, a little bit more fresh, something like citrusy or something like this. It's good to try it now. And I would like to say, à votre santé, Jane. À votre santé, et merci. You're welcome. Oh, lovely. Pretty refreshing. Especially after our hike through the vineyards in the heat of summer. And you can say that it looks like a little bit young also still. You have a little bit of acidity on both sides of the tongue, which is pretty completely normal for the type of grapes that we use here. So if you like less acidity in the white, we say that we need to be patient in Chateauneuf-du-Pape because you have less this acidity after four or five years. So this one is only two years. So it's a baby. Exactly. A kind of teenager, what I like to say. Because you can feel the youngness and the maturity right behind that anyway. Well, thank you for sharing your secret treasure. You're welcome. But now the one that we all know. Yeah, and this one is really special too for us. Oh, good. We are really proud of it. We don't export this one cuvee that we call also. No, because it's a reserve. I mean, it's a little quantity of something and it's an old vine. How old? Yeah, I talked to you about that we have old vine that we've seen outside that it was 30, 40 years old. But this one is going to be 102 years old next year. The vine? The vine outside. Oh, and what would be the different flavor of grape from a 100-year-old vine versus a 10-year-old vine? In fact, I mean, it's 100 years old that these vines catch something from the ground. And we have a pretty beautiful nature all around us, like wild olive, like thyme, rosemary. So, of course, there is an impact on your wine. So, you have something really spicy here. Really spicy and about the fruit because, of course, you have a sensation of fruit because of how a king, the Grenache, gives to us a beautiful fruit. Which we learned about. But we have more something like prune, plant, fig, something like this. And stand on a new ones that you have more something like cherries or raspberries or something like this. This one is darker fruit and spicier one. Now, I see it was bottled in 2016. Is it considered the good time to drink this now or does it need to age more? We can start to drink it now by himself because it's like I like to call, I say it before, like a teenager wine still. So, even if it's too dry for you, you can also have some stronger food with to make it a little bit smoother also. So, this is it. Okay. I show you two cuvées today, one red and one white. But anyway, I have more than that to show you. So, this is the red one. So, 2016, it's also beautiful years. Oh, I'm holding the bowl. I failed my first lesson. Oh, look at the legs. Yeah, the legs. It's great to see it. To see it, you can turn it slowly like this and stop to turn. Oh, I see. And now happen the legs. I mean, you say it legs. But in France, we are a little bit like dramatic when we talk about it because… Oh, no. I don't believe that. Yeah. Of course, we call it tears. He's crying. That's much nicer. I don't know. Anyway, I don't know if it's better that it's running or if it's crying. But anyway, that happened. We have a little drops. I see the tear drops. Yeah, and they're really falling down really slowly down because it's a viscous wine. Very thick. Viscous means with a lot of alcohol contained inside or with a lot of sugar sometimes. But there is no sugar inside. We have a lot of sense, so they give to us a lot of sugar inside the fruit. So, a lot of sugar at the end of the fermentation, a lot of alcohol contained. Which is why they stay on the vine so late until they have shriveled almost as raisins with the sugar. This is it. I'm a quick study. You learn really quickly anyway. Yeah. Great. So, if you smell also the bouquet, Jane, you're going to realize that this one is spicier straight away. But you can feel what I was talking before, the spicy fruit. Smells like winter. Yeah. We say that. It's a winter wine. Oh. Well done. You can give it a little bit of oxygen and also… Oh, no. I don't. Yeah. And the barrels could be maybe less dangerous. Perfect. So, now if you smell it again, definitely hearthier wine here. Much hearthier. Leatherier or something like this. We talk about Henderwood also for this one. Ah. Makes sense. You know when you walked on the forest in the morning and it's wet everywhere. You can smell wet dirt, wet grass, wet dead tree. We have this sensation of Henderwood right now. Let's go to drink that one. I can imagine. Again, Santé. Cheers, Jane. Santé à vous. Mmm. You see, strong in the smell, but really smooth in the mouth. Very smooth. A kind of velvet sensation right now. It's really divine. I really love it, too. Mmm. But this is why I say it's a teenager, you see? You see, Jane, we can anyway feel the tannins, the dryness sensation happening in the tooth around the tongue. Which is the youngness still, which is pretty present. But it's really getting away really quickly because the maturities arrive really quickly behind, I can tell it. And it's a wine that we call Long in the Mouth at the end. Oh, that is magnificent. I love it. We were chatting earlier off camera and you said something that I really loved that I'd like to repeat. You said you like visitors to your chateau to take back souvenirs of memories. Exactly. And it's just such a beautiful saying for everything with travel, but particularly with wine and the memories that you've associated with the wines, with the vineyards, will be the ones I take home. Perfect. Until I return and taste these when they're grown-ups. Thank you so much, Pauline. You're welcome. It's been a wonderful day here in Chateau Neuf-du-Pap. It was really great. Thank you to visit us anyway. Santé. Santé again. We have to finish that now. Oh, yes. So we say goodbye to Pauline and the fine wines of Chateau Beauchamp and head to our next visit at Moulin Saint-Jean, where we learn about another treasure of Provence. The Sordun family has been producing fine olive oils for four generations, but this visit, like so many, turned out to be about much more than just olives. Hey. Good morning. Welcome. Bonjour. Welcome on my farm. Thank you. Okay. So welcome on my family business. It's a pleasure for our to receive you. It's very important for our. And I'm so excited to present you all my information and family stories. Do you know? Oh, that is what I want to hear. And taste. Yes, of course. Please, Jean. Oh, a little coffee to start. Yes, of course. Do you know, Jean? Ma'am, she's Italian. It's a very important moment, the coffee time. You have to taste French-Italian coffee. Oh, happily. Happily. Yes. Here's to Moulin Saint-Jean. Saint-Jean. Do you know French olive oil? Do I know? No. You're going to discover. I can't wait. Tell me. You know, it's very important because all the time when I press, all the time I remember grandfather, grandma, daddy. All the time I think family. Because when I was young, do you know, I came on olive trees with my sister, with parents. When I was young, I have a secret. Never I imagined to become Master Moulin. Never. My farm, since 10 generations, it was a man's job. Only man's job. And do you know when my sister and me born, oh my God, it was a disaster for grandfather. But now, little by little, we took place, yes? And grandfather was so happy. Every day grandfather come with me, Magalie, do you know? Yes. Thank you. Are you the first woman to be a Master Miller? Exactly. In 1998, we were the first feminine oil mill in France. Oh. Girl power. Well, yes. Girl power. And men too. But all the time, daddy and grandfather are with us. It's very important. Every day they love me. Magalie, okay. It's a very family business. When you buy a bottle of Saint-Jean mill, when you come on my mill, you have to understand all the members of the family. It's very important. Oh, it makes it very special. You said 10 generations. The trees are 10 generations old. Yes, of course. And, you know, I have an important story. On my family, when the baby born, do you know we planted new olive trees? It's a symbol of the life. Do you know which is your tree? Yes. Oh, you know, I have 4,000 olive trees. Do you know many baby? Yes. When my sister and me born, daddy planted about 60 olive trees. Tell me how you become a Master Miller. Yes. I took 10 years of formation. Because, yes, to start, sorry, when I was young with my sister, we learned with daddy, grandfather, but now it's absolutely important to be professional. And I took 10 years of formation, and now I'm a taster. I'm international taster of olive oil. It's very important. That's supposed to be my daddy. Oh, so you're an international taster for the appellation for this region? Exactly. Do you know in the world? No. In Europe, I'm sorry. We have a special label, AOP, Appellation Original Protective, like for the wine, champagne, and olive oil. I knew for wine. I didn't know for olive oil. Yeah. It's very important. Why? Because AOP means preserve knowledge, preserve tradition, and we have different traditional trees. It's very important because this speak about the family, speak about a patient. And yes, we have controllers because when you produce an AOP, you have to control the freshness, extra virgin, and the quality, the typical taste, like for the wine. Is there a special flavor that is noted for Provence for the olive oil? Exactly. You know, it's a very important question. Do you know on the Mediterranean basin, on the south of France, of Provence, we have eight different areas of French olive trees. Like for the wine, we have different taste. The Beauce Valley, we have a different taste because we have four typical varieties. We press separately, and after we have to blend them together and burn my typical olive oil. It starts very sweet, very delicate, and after you discover freshness, artichoke flavors, green grass. Artichoke, just like wine. Yeah, exactly. It isn't too intensive, too strong, too bitter, but it's very good. Do you know, I speak a lot of time with a chef, and a lot of chefs explain to me, do you know, Magalie, why it's so good to cook with olive oil? Because an olive oil develops more the natural flavors of the product. If you put a few drops, for example, with a tomato, you have five times more the flavors of the tomato. We knew that instinctively, but probably didn't know it as a fact. I love that. Exactly, exactly. Do you cook all with olive oil? Yes. A little. Good. And extra virgin? Usually. Good. Do you know, extra virgin, a lot of people ask what the difference is. Very important. Because when you go in the shop, a lot of olive oil, it's very difficult to find a natural and authentic olive oil. But please, you have to look the labels. A lot of information. AOP, very important. And the second time, you have to look extra virgin. Extra virgin means between the picking and the pressing means very short time, and you don't have bad taste. You have a lovely taste. Very important. A question. I know that you're having a drought all over Europe. Is a drought good for the olive harvest, or is it in danger? Do you have, like wine, good and bad harvest, or are the trees a little more hardy? Exactly. Do you know, like for the wine, we have a good and bad year because it depends on the weather, of course. Olive trees need a sun for the good taste, don't a lot of rain. Why? Because after, we have a washed taste. We need a little rain, of course, because if I have a summer like this year, very sunny, we have dry, but olive trees need to be irrigated on April. We have a good and bad year, again, because olive trees are pollinated by the wind, no bees. Oh, they didn't have the wind. It's incredible. We have a wind, and on May, when the blossom opens, the flowers open. Sorry, I don't have it perfect. No, that is perfect. We need the wind because after opening, stay two days and fall. Two days for the wind to pollinate 5,000 trees? The life. Yes. There is a high risk. Yes, exactly. And sometimes we pray, of course. We hope. We cross the fingers. Yes, it depends on the weather, the wind, the rain. They're very temperamental. Exactly. Like ours. Should we go look at the olive grove? Yes, if you want, of course. It's a pleasure. And tell your mama. Italian coffee. Yes, thank you. Good. Perfect. Okay, so we're going. Thank you. So, where are you taking us? Now, we're going to look at my olive trees, and I want to show you my private chapel. Private chapel? Yes. In the middle of an olive grove? Oh, yes. Oh, I can't wait. Around my chapel, there is my chapel, St. Jean's Chapel. It's built in the 11th century. Take a part of my farm. 11th century. Yes, of course. And it's very important chapel because it was the first church of my village. On my village, the church is built only in the 18th century. So, this is the first church of the whole village. Exactly, exactly. How magnificent. Thank you. Oh, it is beautiful. Wonderful. It's, every day when I look at it, I'm so happy because I remember a lot of family moments. Oh, do you wear, can you wear? It's a cicada. Cicada in French. Cigale. In American, cicadas. Cicadas, lovely. It's a very comforting sound to me. Okay. On this place, you have to imagine, two times by year, we organize a lovely feast with a lot of people from my village. And we celebrate St. Jean, okay? Of course. St. Jean Baptiste, St. Jean, St. Jean Baptiste. And the last day of picking of olives. It's lovely. You have to come back. Wonderful. I would love to. Thank you. I will be here. When I was young, I came here, and I have a lot of olive trees. And these olive trees, it's very important to understand. These olive trees are planted when my grand-grandfather born. This is when my sister born, after when I born. And after, you're going to look, olive trees planted when my son born. Oh. Remember, 600. Oh, look, it's the whole family history in olive trees. This is a lot of symbols, a lot of information. Do you look at these olive trees? There are several feet. Because France, you know that, we represent less of 3% of the world production. Why? Because on February 1956, a terrible frost arrived on the south of France. All the olive trees frozen. It was a disaster. And do you know, 80% of French olive trees frozen. It was incredible. And grandfather, to continue to live, stopped the mill, cut all the olive trees as a feat. And do you know, 10 years after, they start again. They came back. With many trunks. Exactly. Oh. Imagine on the land, the roots to be. And the olive trees start again with the new shoots. If you look four feet, there are not four olive trees. It's one olive tree start again. Now, are there different types of olive trees within your orchard? Remember, I have four different types. Salonin, Blanquette, Verdal, and Grosin. These varieties, remember, they are typical of my area. And we pick them on two times. Table olives, on September, and October to December, for olive oil. Same trees. But the time that you pick them, whether they're for table or for the olive oil. Yes, but it's very important to understand. Olives, when they're ripe, when they mature, change of color and change of taste. Green, perfect for the green table olives. And the same variety when they're ripe, so delicious for olive oil. Ah. And do you know, we wait December, why not January, to pick again the black olives. We select one by… Yes, January. Why not December? But depends on the weather, of course. The weather takes the decision. And after the spring, we have a very important job. We have to prune olive trees like a goblet shelf. Every tree? Every. Yeah. Do you know why? Because an olive tree, it's pollinated by the wind, remember? I have learned. Yes. If you prune like a sunglass, the wind go inside to pollinate all the flowers. And I see the perfect globes all around. Exactly. You know, olive grow only on the new branches. So it's very important to prune again to take new branches. To generate new branches. Do you want to show you exactly the picture of my label? I would love to see the picture of the label. Please. You mentioned a Van Gogh painting. Yes. Tell me the connection and what I can look for. Yes. Why Van Gogh and Leo Lollet, do you know? We have two very important painters in Provence. And because, do you know, in Provence, the time of grandfather, of course, the woman with the traditional Provencal clothes, picking olives. The men were stronger, carry and press olive oil. But it was lovely to look at a lot of women with the traditional clothes. And to remember this is because it was a feast on the chapel. My sister and me as the clothes, Provencal clothes. And grandfather take the picture to use like a label of my bottle of olive oil. How beautiful. Can we go look and taste? Yes, of course. These wonderful olive oils you taught us about. Thank you. Of course, we're going to taste it, yes. Here we are outside the mill under this gorgeous sycamore tree on a summer afternoon in Provence. It doesn't get much nicer. Except maybe could we taste one of the olive oils we've learned so much about. Could you tell me a little bit about what's on the label? Yes, of course. Do you look? When you buy an olive oil, all the time you have to look the name. Moulin Saint-Jean mill means a traditional olive oil. So mass is mill. Yes, exactly. Traditional. After you have to look AUP. Do you look AUP? It's very important. You have to recognize the symbol. The circle, yellow and red, means AUP. OK, give me some time. Yellow and red and mass. I've got it. Remember, extra virgin means extra fresh. Cold extract because now we don't press. And the most important, where it comes from. From Spain, Italy, France, of course. But please, never buy from Europe. From Europe means a lot of blending. Oh, without the distinctive flavors you've taught us. Exactly. If you want to buy a good olive oil, select from one country, AUP. And if you can, from a mill. No industrial. Are you OK? I appreciate the lesson. I will use it in my next shopping trip. Do you know for the tasting, three parts. You smell, you put in your mouth, and after you try to recognize. Don't choke. It isn't a taste. It's a peppery taste. Perhaps you recognize in your mouth. If you recognize here, it means fresh olive oil. Don't confuse. Down further. So, this is for you. Do you look? It's a gold color of olive oil. This is for you. This is for me. Hello, you know? And in the sunlight, even golder. It's very important. When I press it, the color is green. Naturally, olive oil becomes yellow. You put your hand on. You turn just a little. Why? To take a temperature. It's easier to recognize all the flavors. Are you ready? Ready. Now, you're going to smell it. Do you recognize the leaves of tomatoes? It's a green grass. Artichoke flavors. I've got everything but the artichoke. Maybe that will be on your taste. Now, you're going to put in your mouth, and you turn a long time. You are ready? Start sweet. Almondness. Oh, after you have green grass, artichoke. Do you recognize it? And I feel the pepper. I feel the pepper. Yeah. Perfect olive oil. Because I want to show you the pepper. It is in the taste. Now, you're going to taste it with the bread. You know that it's a perfect breakfast of daddy. It's a morning olive oil and bread. So good. You have to taste with the bread. Never you recognize the pepper. It's incredible. I now feel like an expert. Do you want to taste it? I do, but I'd like the behind the scenes. The men who are making this happen to come join me. Nicholas and Adam, you get the first taste this time. Yeah, good. Thank you. It's for you. Tell me if you taste the artichokes. A few drops, and do you look? You don't have a lot of... A few drops, and you have a lot of taste. Okay? With the bread, you recognize the sweetness and the freshness, but you don't have the pepper. No. Because pepper isn't an aroma. Okay? And do you know, I sell my olive oil at a different Michelin star chef, and a lot of times they explain to me, do you know why, Magalie, it's very important to cook with fruity and not too bitter olive oil? Because you can cook with all. With the fish, with the vegetables, and I repeat, olive oil, it's a natural developed flavor of the product. Okay? A few drops with the tomato, you have five times more the flavors of the tomato. Do you like? I love, I love. Now the question I have, since I have carry-on luggage, can you buy your olive oil in the States? No. Oh. I have a problem. Then I will check my luggage, because this is going home. You know, I have a dream. Every year, my sister, my parents, and me, we have a dream, why not produce more, because we can't export. We produce just quantities for the wine shop, delicatessen shop, and chef, but now I'm so happy because I have the online. Oh, good. No, please, I think people would like to hear. So online, they can order. Yes, but it's an important question, because I can't export, and so it's very important for me to receive guests from Viking. You know why? Because with the guests from Viking cruise, I'm like exporting with them. Oh, you are. It's very important. You know, France represents only 3% or 2% of the world production, and when the guests are, I can speak about my family business, I can speak about French olive oil, and for me, it's very important. Your passion is clear. You're not just exporting the taste. You're exporting really what makes the French way of life so spectacular and so unique. I can't thank you enough for sharing your family history, your expertise, your master tasting, and your olive oil that I am taking a small can home with me. Thank you so much, Magalie. Thank you. It's been wonderful. What is the traditional Provençal? One kiss, two kiss? Three kiss. Yes. Un, deux, trois. Thank you. Merci beaucoup. It's been a true pleasure and honor. It's a pleasure for me. Thank you so much. Leaving Moulin Saint-Jean with a new expertise on the cultural heritage of olive oils, we head back to the ship for dinner. Our ship is docked right next to the walled city of Avignon, and the golden hour beckons as we hop on a ferris wheel for a stunning, if slightly shaky, view of the city. Nicholas, a former program director on board this cruise, and now overseeing all the Viking cruises in France and Portugal, joined us. I didn't tell you I really don't like ferris wheels. Unfortunately, neither do I. We're a great pair to interview on a ferris wheel. Good job, cameraman. Exactly. But here we are. Let's make the best of it. Exactly. You've spent many nights in Avignon as former program director on the Viking ships. Tell me what I'm seeing and what I can't miss. So, really, this time of day in the evening when it's a little cooler and the sun starts going down, these southern French villages and cities, they really shine with the limestone and the lighting, and it's my favorite time of day to just take a stroll through them and see them and the views are just spectacular. And this ferris wheel is here every summer, so it's something that we recommend our guests to do from time to time as well, if they enjoy ferris wheels. The view is worth it. Yeah. Maybe. Absolutely. Strolling sounds nice. Absolutely. And then, of course, behind us is the famous Pont d'Avignon. Can you sing it? Pont d'Avignon. Yeah. Excuse me for my words. No, it's good. That was good. Yeah. But you can see the broken bridge right over there. Right behind us. How beautiful. I'm going to mess up your filming and take a picture. I'm sorry. But you should. This view is really great. There we go. Look for it on Instagram. This is the time to see Avignon. Not when it was 102 or 103 during the day. This is perfect. Small breeze, plenty of shade, glass of rosé. These are the best conditions to see Avignon in. And then you get these views of the palace. It is impressive. It always resembles more of a fortress. It was almost a military coup to get the papacy over here. Or you can at least compare it to that. I couldn't resist the chance to walk around Avignon in the evening. It was alive with diners and outdoor cafes, children playing, and locals just enjoying a summer evening. Nicholas promised a spectacular view if we climbed just a few steps to the top of the Palais. After a full day of filming in over 100 degree heat, I almost said no. Thank goodness I didn't. It was a perfect ending to our first day in Provence. Nicholas, thanks for bringing us up at sunset. This is magical. It's my pleasure. It would be a shame to keep this all to myself. Views like these are meant to be shared. This is just beautiful. It's hopping tonight. Is this typical for inside the city walls at Avignon at night? Absolutely. A couple of factors. There's a big cultural life here. As I said before, the theatre festival, the largest one in Europe, brings a lot of artistic attention to the city every year. A lot of performers come here all throughout the year. There's also a university here right outside the city walls. A lot of students come here as well. There's always something going on. There's plenty of terraces where people just enjoy a glass of wine. The weather is lovely in the evening. They'll do this before they go see a theatre show. Sometimes it's open air as well, which they can do in this area. Or before they go see a movie or a walk in this area. There's also the river islands right next to where we docked, where a lot of people also go where there's a lot of nature for camping as well. A lot of the people who try to find refuge there come here in the evening. A lot of vacationers come to camp that are French. Absolutely. And then the Americans come on the river boats. That's how it goes. Well, they all get to see it. It's a unique medieval town. Yeah, there's nothing really quite like it. Not just because of the Palais de Pape. Very unique. The walls around the city, the life that is here. It really is this little gem that more people should take the time to discover. Well, you're helping us. Thank you. My pleasure.