Round stones, polished like eggs, cover the ground between the rows of vines. These are the famous galets roulés, deposited by the Rhône thousands of years ago: they store the day's heat and release it back to the vines during the night. The whole history of Châteauneuf-du-Pape lies in this small detail of geology. Travellers who leave their ship to climb the hill enter a landscape where every element, from the soil to the bell tower, serves the same purpose: wine.

From the River to the Hilltop

The town stands about two kilometres from the Rhône, atop a hill rising to around 120 metres. River cruise ships stop nearby or at neighbouring Avignon, and a short coach ride brings passengers to the first houses. The climb up reveals the essentials right away: a sea of vines stretching as far as the eye can see, some 3,000 hectares under the appellation, and at the summit, the remains of a fortress that gave the place its name.

The Popes' Summer Residence

When Clement V established the papacy in Avignon in 1309, the papal court quickly sought refuge from the city's summer heat. In the fourteenth century, John XXII had a fortified residence built here, of which a section of wall and the lower hall survive today. It isn't much, and yet it's a great deal: around their residence, the popes planted the terroir's first organized vineyards, unknowingly sowing the seeds of the wine's worldwide renown. From the ruins, the view takes in the Rhône Valley, Mont Ventoux, and, on clear days, the rooftops of Avignon.

A Village That Breathes Wine

Cobbled lanes wind down in a spiral from the fortress, lined with wine cellars, winegrowers' shops, and tasting houses. There are, almost, more wine-related businesses here per square metre than there are residents: vaulted cellars, barrels used as shop signs, and window displays lined with bottles bearing the papal coat of arms, the tiara and the keys of Saint Peter. Several estates and merchants, including the house of Ogier, open their cellars to visitors to explain the appellation's characteristic blend, where Grenache is paired with Syrah, Mourvèdre, and about a dozen other permitted grape varieties. An hour-long introduction is enough to leave knowing how to tell a garnet-hued wine from a brick-red one.

A Table Between Tastings

The stop lends itself well to a food break. The terraces on Place du Portail serve straightforward Provençal cuisine: daube, vegetable tians, goat cheeses from the neighbouring hills, all naturally paired with a glass of the local wine. Food lovers will note that the local white, rarer than the red, pairs beautifully with fish from the market. A few fine-food shops make it easy to slip olive oil, tapenade, and garrigue honey into your luggage.

What to See Before Heading Back Down

• The remains of the papal castle and their view over the valley
• Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church, a plain twelfth-century Romanesque building
• The historic cellars carved beneath the town
• A patch of galets roulés, to touch with your own hand the secret of the terroir

Everything can be covered on foot in half a day, slopes included. Good footwear makes the walk far more pleasant, since the calades, those old cobbled streets, show no mercy to smooth soles.

The Return to the River

Heading back down toward the Rhône, passengers often carry a bottle or two with them, sometimes a whole case shipped directly to Quebec by the estate. But the real souvenir weighs far less: it's the memory of a place where seven centuries of papal history can be read in a landscape of vines, and where simply picking up a stone warmed by the sun tells the story of the terroir better than any speech ever could. The ship sets off again toward Avignon or Viviers; the hill, meanwhile, returns to its patient work of ripening.