wine tasting at one of the select vineyards permitted to produce Châteauneuf-du-Pape – literally “the New Castle of the Pope” – the most famous of the Côtes du Rhône wines. Your host reveals secrets of the terroir as you sample estate-crafted red and white wines, along with savory cheese puffs called gougères, traditionally served at tastings. Meals BLD
7. ROMAN RUINS IN VIENNE Dock in Andance and drive to nearby Vienne. Impressive Roman ruins, like the virtually intact Temple of Augustus and Livia and the 13,000-seat Theater cut into the hillside, chronicle Vienne’s importance as a springboard for Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul during the 1st century; see them on a guided walking tour with a local guide this morning. As an alternative, you may choose to join us for a guided bicycle tour along the river as you pedal to Saint Vallier for un café and a croissant, before returning to the riverboat. Spend a relaxing afternoon and evening shipboard en route to Mâcon. Meals BLD
8. FROM AN ABBEY TO A RIDING SCHOOL Nine arches grace the Pont-de-Vaux spanning the Saône River in Mâcon, and history lives along its Heritage Trail. Along with a walking tour of the town, visit Cluny Abbey, once one of the most significant Benedictine monasteries in Europe, and the Haras National equestrian center where a dressage demonstration with a skilled horse and rider will be a highlight of your visit. Lunch today is served at Château Pruzilly set in the heart of the Beaujolais and Burgundy wine region. Your cruise continues to Chalon-sur-Saône for an evening arrival. Meals BLD
TIME-HONORED SECRETS
OF THE TERROIR A Provençal winemaker wrote, in the 1600s, of wines that give courage and song and love and joy. He was speaking about Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 13 different varieties of wine, 8 red, 5 white, produced in the southern Rhône Valley since the 1300s and the birth of the papal vineyard. Vineyards here thrive in the low hills and Mediterranean climate, with more than 200 days of sunshine and cold, biting rain-bearing mistral winds that enable the soil to store water for the long hot days of summer. Magnificent châteaux are emblematic of the importance of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and other French appellations, like Côtes du Rhône and Pouilly-Fuissé, red and white wines you’ll taste in private vineyards – and in a family-owned 900-year-old castle – where they are produced, as you learn the time-honored secrets of the terroir. Regional varieties of local vins will be featured daily during dinner aboard ms Emerald for your pleasure.
Visit the impressive 17th-century Château de Cormatin in southern Burgundy Call your travel agent or Tauck at 800-468-2825
tauck.com/river-cruises 39
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