Back in the pre-ownership, pre-marriage, pre-baby summer days of 2019, my now wife and I had this wild idea that we could do a trip through the South of France “on the cheap.” I know now, those two things do not coalesce… but the weight on the credit card was well-worth the memories we were destined to find on our trip.

After arriving in Nice, we rented a car and a series of guest rooms and Airbnb’s and worked our way from there through Antibes, Cannes, St.Tropez and prepared to make a run at exploring the Southern Rhone Valley with modest knowledge of the region and NO knowledge of the language.

Our plan was to have a sunny afternoon drinking rosé in Provence and then go see historic Châteauneuf du Pape the next day. The weather had a different plan for us, as it poured rain the first two days in the Rhone Valley.  We learned the hard way that wine tasting in France is nothing like it is here in the states-where you can bus yourself around and people abide by their hours and are constantly ready for the sale. In Provence, everyone simply closed their doors. Even a few places I had reached out to before arriving simply said “sorry, it’s raining.” We ended up drinking rosé in the rain at a tourist information kiosk and that was that for Provence.

At the same time, I had heard from a few sources that there was a wine cave in Châteauneuf du Pape that we HAD to see, but that you had to text the owner and see if he is around. I texted the owner a few days before and he said he would most likely be around… When we had our day in Provence, I was defeated. Seeing how rough our first day went, I texted him that night to follow up and got nothing back. The next morning, we got a ride up to Châteauneuf du Pape and he finally responded as if he knew we had arrived! We had lunch in the town square and he told us to come see him in an hour.

Ariel and I, and our friend Michael walked up the cobble stone streets below the old cathedral and found a door in the side of the hill right where the waypoint was that he sent me. We knocked and paced and no one came. We called him to no avail, started to walk back down into time, and he finally called back and asked us to come back. We hunched through the doorway into a 13th century underground cellar and embarked on a candlelit journey through an array of local wines with Guy Bremond: a man who was born and raised in the village and spent his life convincing the families to sell to him to export. He was a wealth of knowledge of the earth, the history of the area, and the wines it is known for. The Caves of St. Charles was the absolute highlight of our trip to France, and a memory we will never forget. In 2020, I reached out to Guy and tried to convince him to come to A’s when he was in the states next. Covid came shortly after, and we fell out of touch. After I purchased A’s from Bertrand, I contacted him again and told him the news and that the offer still stood….

In March, he reached out and told me that he and his chef were planning a North American Tour. On February 6th, Guy Bremond and Chef Eric will join our Wine Director Scott Rose and Chef Stephane to offer an intimate experience from those that live the story of the Rhone every day. The Chefs will visit the farms together, curate the menu together, and cook together, while Scott and Guy pour together. We will hear and taste the story of Châteauneuf du Pape in a way that few have ever been able to offer before.

– Ryan Thorsen, Mister A’s