Leaving for France soon.
CONTRAST TOURS
THE PIC SAINT LOUP WINE TOUR, FALL 2026
Languedoc Part 1, with Cammie Lassiter
SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 2, 2026
In collaboration with Seaboard Wine, Savi's Wine, Wine and Words. The Giorgios Hospitality Group
Limited to 6 participants
Plus Cammie, and myself.
Plus Cammie, and myself.
ABOUT THIS TOUR:
Mysterious Village #1
Mysterious Village #1
Entrance of the Mysterious Village #1 hotel.
Enchanting breakfast at the Mysterious Village #1 hotel.
The Pic Saint Loup in the center, seen from the north east.
Small Village with a charm of its own near the Cévennes.
Gil Morrot, Vintner extraordinaire and incognito.
Nîmes, La Maison Carrée, one of Nîmes most famous Roman Mnument.
Nîmes, 17th century house downtown.
View from the top gardens at the Hotel in Mysterious Village #1. So the opposite angle of the photograph above.
Rooftop type of pool on the upper terrasse-garden of the Mysterious Village #1 hotel.
Mysterious Village #1
Looking at where we will have come from. There is a road in there, coming from what is called the "Causse," which will have been our cause that day.
Dinner with Gil Morrot's Divem.
Panorama on the whole region, from well above Legendary Village #2. Probably the most stunning view point of the whole tour.
This trip will take you in a part of France, its deep South, that remains mysterious to even a lot of French people. In this tour we explore the part of Languedoc known as the Pic Saint Loup, north of Montpellier, and west of Nîmes.
Wine has been the main occupation there since Roman times, and has emerged in the past 50 years as the new French Wine Frontier. These days, It attracts the most adventurous wine makers, who without constraining appellations, allow themselves to push boundaries to push always further wine creativity and enjoyment.
This is also a rather endearing part of France with very genuine people, according sceneries, as well as sometimes grandiose ones. The hotels in this tour are of a rare charm and character, illustrating the creativity found in this Deep South of France, where hospitality is linked to the sense of honor, and where you will be treated with unparalleled receptions by the wine makers.
Being a professional photographer with a career spanning over more than 50 years, photography and art have a strong place in my tours, and we will be talking art in this one. If photography has interest for you, you are on the right page, and we are on the same one.
Cammie Lassiter is accompanying us in this trip. She is the owner of Savi's Wine, an out of the ordinary bottle shop in New Bern. Cammie is a dear friend, who exemplifies southern grace, never loses her compass, and excels at keeping everybody on their best foot. She will be a valuable travel companion to all of you.
Please take a look at the itinerary, and I hope you will feel inspired to join this tour far from the beaten path.
Wine has been the main occupation there since Roman times, and has emerged in the past 50 years as the new French Wine Frontier. These days, It attracts the most adventurous wine makers, who without constraining appellations, allow themselves to push boundaries to push always further wine creativity and enjoyment.
This is also a rather endearing part of France with very genuine people, according sceneries, as well as sometimes grandiose ones. The hotels in this tour are of a rare charm and character, illustrating the creativity found in this Deep South of France, where hospitality is linked to the sense of honor, and where you will be treated with unparalleled receptions by the wine makers.
Being a professional photographer with a career spanning over more than 50 years, photography and art have a strong place in my tours, and we will be talking art in this one. If photography has interest for you, you are on the right page, and we are on the same one.
Cammie Lassiter is accompanying us in this trip. She is the owner of Savi's Wine, an out of the ordinary bottle shop in New Bern. Cammie is a dear friend, who exemplifies southern grace, never loses her compass, and excels at keeping everybody on their best foot. She will be a valuable travel companion to all of you.
Please take a look at the itinerary, and I hope you will feel inspired to join this tour far from the beaten path.
ITINERARY:
* Wednesday September 23: Departure from RDU (or wherever you depart from) to Paris, or another European city that connects to Montpellier, but Paris is probably ideal if departing from NC. In Paris CDG airport you will connect seamlessly to flight to Montpellier. Ask me how this works when you book. At the Montpellier Airport you will get a cab to the Hotel in Nîmes, and probably other participants will arrive by the same flight and you may be able share the about 30 minutes ride.
NOTE: This tour was conceived to be more accessible. If it is still too long for you, you may arrive as late as Saturday in Nîmes (fly Friday). The tour will be even more affordable then, see pricing section at bottom.
You may also arrive earlier in Nîmes, if this is the case, please contact me.
* Thursday September 24: you will arrive at the hotel a bit before noon, and after some refreshing, since you'll be starving we'll have lunch in Nîmes wonderful covered market where I have developed a great relationship with a wonderful very small restaurant. As everywhere we eat during this tour, and all my tours for that matter, you will start right then experiencing the wines from the producers we'll visit.
Nîmes is an interesting town to do some out of the ordinary shopping, including fashion shopping. While this is not necessarily what you will be tempted by there, Nîmes is where "De Nîmes a.k.a. denim" originated.
The afternoon will be as you wish, either rest or start exploring the town. Around 17:00 serious matters start with a pétanque in the Jardins de la Fontaine, right across ur hotel.
Dinner in town
* Friday September 24: Hopefully you now fill a bit more rested, but probably not quite back to normal yet, This day will accommodate this, with a similar schedule as yesterday, with a lot of free time for strolling and shopping in old Nîmes which is just around the corner of our hotel.
In the morning we'll have a guided visit in English of the Beautiful gardens across the street from our hotel. This will be followed by a lunch in the market as yesterday.
17:00 is pétanque time.
Dinner in town.
* Saturday September 26: similar program as yesterday:
Morning guided visit of the arenas. Nîmes was a very important town for the Romans, and has lots of vestiges from that time. This is for instance where the water from the Pont du Gard arrived. And I will show you where.
lunch at the market, pétanque at 17:00.
Dinner in an atmospheric very relaxed restaurant.
NOTE: This tour was conceived to be more accessible. If it is still too long for you, you may arrive as late as Saturday in Nîmes (fly Friday). The tour will be even more affordable then, see pricing section at bottom.
You may also arrive earlier in Nîmes, if this is the case, please contact me.
* Thursday September 24: you will arrive at the hotel a bit before noon, and after some refreshing, since you'll be starving we'll have lunch in Nîmes wonderful covered market where I have developed a great relationship with a wonderful very small restaurant. As everywhere we eat during this tour, and all my tours for that matter, you will start right then experiencing the wines from the producers we'll visit.
Nîmes is an interesting town to do some out of the ordinary shopping, including fashion shopping. While this is not necessarily what you will be tempted by there, Nîmes is where "De Nîmes a.k.a. denim" originated.
The afternoon will be as you wish, either rest or start exploring the town. Around 17:00 serious matters start with a pétanque in the Jardins de la Fontaine, right across ur hotel.
Dinner in town
* Friday September 24: Hopefully you now fill a bit more rested, but probably not quite back to normal yet, This day will accommodate this, with a similar schedule as yesterday, with a lot of free time for strolling and shopping in old Nîmes which is just around the corner of our hotel.
In the morning we'll have a guided visit in English of the Beautiful gardens across the street from our hotel. This will be followed by a lunch in the market as yesterday.
17:00 is pétanque time.
Dinner in town.
* Saturday September 26: similar program as yesterday:
Morning guided visit of the arenas. Nîmes was a very important town for the Romans, and has lots of vestiges from that time. This is for instance where the water from the Pont du Gard arrived. And I will show you where.
lunch at the market, pétanque at 17:00.
Dinner in an atmospheric very relaxed restaurant.
* Sunday September 27: If you get up early enough, you might want to take one last walk in the Jardins de la Fontaine before we leave town. Our destination will be the Domaine Cours Saint Vincent, an unassuming winery north of Montpellier and definitely in sight of the Pic Saint Loup.
Stéphan produces organic wines in Coteaux du Languedoc and Grès de Montpellier appellations. These are rather substantial reds, round and well balanced with dark fruits that remain expressive. It will be a good introduction for the wines we will encounter around this trip. And Stéphan will receive us with the bonhommie and joviality that characterizes him and the people in this region.
We will have lunch there, enjoying a somewhat simple, although not ordinary, and well hearted hospitality.
All this will take some time, and we'll eventually take a walk in the lovely village before heading to our first site of residence, the Mysterious Village #1, 40 minutes away, to discover the lovely hotel where we will spend the next 5 nights.
This village is tucked by a river on one side and a mount on the other, on top of which are the ruins of a castle. Like most villages in the region, it has a medieval structure. is more or less walled, and seems to have just re-emerged from oblivion where it sat, frozen in the past for 3-4 centuries. This is a place where the likes of Cyrano de Bergerac are a plausible encounter in the rather unique design of criss-crossing streets and two small squares that seem to be open invitations for all sorts of troubadours.
On the edge of the surrounding wall, perched on the beginning of the mount and right under the remnants of the castle is our hotel. this is a very sizable Master house, from the 17th century. Our hosts have kept it somewhat natural, respecting its spirit rather than transforming it into a modern four star facility. Think of it as your aristocratic grandmother's family house with very spacious rooms offering all necessary comfort, elegant country style without affectation, pure class.
There is an interior garden and terrasse gardens overlooking the town, as well as a rooftop swimming pool.
I absolutely adore this place and would be thrilled to live there.
Another World Cup qualifying Pétanque game.
Dinner at the hotel, in the garden, weather permitting. Weather is rather permitting in the region in this season.
* Monday September 28: This entire region is dominated by the Pic Saint Loup, a beautiful mountain that towers Montpellier and is visible 360˚ around. We will have seen it already several times on the horizon. The mountain gives its name to the main wine appellation in these quarters, and today we visit Contrast Wines Pic Saint Loup (PSL) organic producer: La Chouette du Chai.
This is a very secluded estate, in a dream like location, just under the Pic. You may confuse this winery for an under the sky contemporary art museum, as it is full of substantial sculptures, including "The Tower of Life's Ups and Downs," a tower that one could climb through a staircase as uneven and circumvolved as life can be. Contrast Tours will open you the doors of this "museum" obviously not open to the public otherwise.
Wine wise, this estate offer the best PSL I know, as well as other very creative and interesting wines, creations as artistic as the surrounding art.
We'll eat moderately lightly in the form of a picnic, as after lunch those willing will be climbing the Pic Saint Loup. This is not Mount Everest, but it is not a cake walk either. You will have the option to pass on the hike of course.
I will be with you if you choose to go meet the Gods at the top. The trail is very rocky, so it will require proper shoes, and sticks are not a luxury, but the view on top is vertiginous, and Pic Saint Loup wines will have a different meaning, possibly flavor for you afterward.
Back to the Hotel.
Another round of Pétanque World Cup.
Dinner at the village's restaurant by the river.
* Tuesday September 29: today we are going to feel the greatness of the Larzac, experience the desolation, the "2001 Space Odissey-like" stone immensity, the place that would chill Don Quixote's bones. Today we are driving through the No-Man-of-Conscience-Land."
Not that far mind you. About an hour after leaving the hotel, and after a short glance of what the Larzac may be like, we arrive to an oasis already. We'll visit the village and enjoy a real country like lunch by the creek, with local products, and hearty type of dishes. On the menu will be local trout, that much I can reveal!
After lunch we will drive through the core of the stone temple, on a road really made for donkey pulled carts, see photograph on the right as evidence. This landscape is for monks, its inner beauty fosters spirituality.
After 1 hour of this Cervantes type of quest, we will rejoin civilization, leaving the Larzac for its terraces. From there you can see the sea in the far distance, and while we are still in relative altitude, water is not as scarce, the landscape, while definitely Mediterranean, seems to be able to feed its people. Some exceptional wines are produced here, and we will come back in two day to visit one of my very best producers.
On the way back to the hotel, we will visit one of the top Vin Nature producer in France: Mas Foulaquier, organic and biodynamic. I can't say that I am an unconditional fan of Vins Nature, but some of them are indeed very pertinent, and I find some made by Blandine and Pierre, extremely interesting. In fact Mas Foulaquier is one of the producers of my portfolio that is most present in my dinners, due to the inherent unique character and excellence of their wines.
These two top notch vintners, will show us their property, cellar, and we'll taste their best wines.
Back to the village and dinner at a nearby Neapolitan pizzeria owned and operated by neapolitans I am friend with. Massimo is always curious about French wines, and we are going to show him how some local wines are fantastic with pizza.
* Wednesday September 30th: We start our exploration of the area going north toward the part called the "Cévennes," which is the very southeastern tip of the central mountains. This is where we will find Domaine Sollier, a quintessentially "Cévenol" producer, with delicious and surprising whites.
We'll have a visit of the vineyard and cellar with Thomas, one of the two brothers now at the helm of the winery. And then we'll also taste the wines.
Lunch with Thomas at a very good restaurant in the valley.
After lunch we will venture north to a small town, perched near the Cévennes and full of creative and visually compelling architecture. The third round of the Pétanque World Cup will take place on this foreign ground as good pétanque players need to adapt quickly to new conditions. There is little doubt that those not playing, should there be any, will enjoy a drink at one of the local cafés or more wandering in the streets.
Dinner back at the unbelievable Hotel in Mysterious Village #1, for a heart pinching aristocratic country affair.
* Thursday October 1st: we are going back west to the Terrasse du Larzac, to visit the most mysterious producer in my portfolio, and one of the very best as well. We drove through Montpeyroux Tuesday, I said we would be back, and here we are, to visit the white wolf, the wine maker that some people have heard of, and that few have seen: Gil Morrot.
Gil who? No blasphemy please, for a few of us lucky to have crossed his path, Gil is the holy Grail of wine. Of course nobody knows him, he and his chai are in an undisclosed and very discrete location, and his photograph, see on the right, is not ordinarily available.
BUT, when your lips encounter his wine (organic), then everything makes sense, and all problems are solved, as promised about another fellow on countless billboards on route 70, except that here it is real, the wine is on your palate and Gil is in front of you. I told you these landscapes make one mystical, didn't I?
I don't know if Gil's wine is the best one under the sun, but it sure stands apart, tall and high, and I am happy that you will get to meet him, hear how he makes his nectars, what animates him, the whole monty. And then we'll have lunch with him on the town's square in one of the Terrasses du Larzac's very best restaurant.
After lunch we may go back up on the Larzac, just on its edge, to have the best unparalleled view on the region, from the Pic Saint Loup still there and obvious on the left, to the Pyrenees in the distance on the right. No hiking necessary, just a good driver and people trusting him.
Back to our lovely hotel.
Farewell Dinner.
The temptation of Pétanque in Legendary Village #2.
ABOUT THIS VOYAGE:
Jean-Christian Rostagni, scouting for this tour with Loic
Cammie Lee Lassiter during the Provence Tour 2025.
This is Your Hosts
Lineup:
to learn more about these characters, click on the thumbnail and then on "Open" in the lightbox in order to see what they are up to.
DATES: September 23 - October 2, 2026.
Limited to up to 6 travelers, plus Cammie, and myself, your travel companions, drivers, guides, photography assistant, pétanque gurus, philosophers, interpreters and hopefully entertainers.
$5,850 per person based on double occupancy, travel insurance and airfare additional, if 6 participants and in "Superieure" room in Nîmes. $6,250 if 5 participants, $6,895 if 4 participants, $7,975 if 3 participants.
You may elect to spend less that the 3 nights in Nimes included in the tour. No matter what, you will spend 1 night in our hotel, the best in town, a true 5 star hotel that is extremely pleasant. The latest you may arrive is Sept 26 (fly out on Sept 25). The prices above will then be:
-$290 per night in double occupancy
-$430 in single occupancy (the single accommodation supplement remains the same).
Please see options page to see all room choices in Nîmes hotel. There is no "option" at the Pic saint Loup Base hotel, everybody is treated like royalty there!
The single accommodation supplement is $1,045 in "Superieure" room in Nîmes. Price includes hotel, meals, wine during meals, transportation, entrance fees when applicable, and should be considered all-inclusive, save for beverages in your room or at the bar and other services you might want to enjoy that are not part of the group activities.
Travel Insurance: you will be quoted a rate based on your tour cost and other parameters if you'd like. If you chose to get some Travel Insurance from Travel Insured International, a highly rated Travel Insurance Company with which I partner, you will get a 10% of your premium as a credit toward your Contrast Tours costs. See here.
Please read our Viral Policy as well as the way of the Meals.
Photography: I will happily provide photographic assistance and share my photographer's perspective throughout the tour. And you may even be subjected to look at my portfolio which I will bring during the trip, in an effort to provide an artistic perspective on everything.
During this journey you will be able to compare wines from different appellations, see what the differences are, and get to understand why there are such differences. Our meals will always be paired with wines from the wineries that we visit. Those wines are imported by Contrast Wines, a sister company to Contrast Tours, and are available in wine stores and restaurants in NC, and may be shipped to other states.
The itinerary is subject to modification due to scheduling imperatives and other considerations, but I try to be as precise as possible here in spite of the time distance from the actual tour. Please note that this is an epicurean journey, and while I will attempt to satisfy special requests when possible and if mentioned at booking, I cannot guarantee being able to accommodate special dietary needs. Please inquire if this is a matter of concern.
Please email me (use Contact Us button below) if you want to book or have any questions. You may also call me: 919-416-1111 or U.S. Cell: 984-312-5315, France Cell: +33 07 69 85 84 74
