Wine tour and chocolate shop

Another gorgeous sunny day, in Tournon this time. We boarded the bus for a short ride to Cornas, a very pretty small village where we walked around the vineyards and enjoyed the blooming fruit trees and forsythia. A feast for the eye!
Cornas has just 207 acres of vines. The southeast facing slopes are planted with just one grape: the Syrah. It's the earliest-ripening of the Northern Rhone appellations. Cornas means 'burnt land', which somehow describes what Cornas wine is all about.
The wines bearing the label Cotes du Rhone are as varied as the landscapes of the region - a stark transition from Burgundy to Provence that stretches from Vienne south to Arles.

We had a tour of a small private winery and tasted two wines, which some of us bought to take back to Canada.
On our way back, we stopped in at a local chocolate manufacturer's shop where we all had some tasty samples and some of the best hot chocolate ever! The store did a booming business.

We are sailing to Vienne this afternoon and will arrive around 7:30pm

Captain's Gala dinner tonight!