Autumn in Provence

Harvest time

As in all wine-growing regions, the start of autumn is a key moment that defines life at the foot of Ventoux.

From the end of August, small winegrowers' tractors go back and forth between vineyards and the wine-making premises. Of course, harvesting machines are used, but the job is still performed by hand in many places.

Autumn in Provence is a festival of colour

We have an advantage in Provence, as the autumn season is particularly mild and long. Thanks to this, we can enjoy beautiful autumnal colours right up to the beginning of November. Subtle at first, nature's colours intensify as the days go by. The orange and yellow of the vines, the red of cherry trees, the bright yellow of the woodlands. Depending on the time of day, the beautiful southern light paints magnificent tableaux that are constantly changing and enthralling all who gaze upon them.

Mushrooms of Ventoux

At the end of summer and beginning of autumn, Provence sometimes experiences great storms which restore a new vigour to nature. Then, in the following fortnight, the mild climate encourages the arrival of mushrooms. In the forests of Ventoux and on the Albion plateau, there are porcini but also "pinins" or "sanguins" (small orangey mushrooms which seem to bleed when they are cut), "petits gris" and even chanterelles...

Secret encounters with the animals of Mont Ventoux

The extensive forests around Ventoux are a habitat preserved for a large number of animal species. Here you can find wild boar, roe deer, stags, but also foxes, badgers and even a few wolves which settled permanently in the area a few years ago. The forests of Ventoux also shelter a colony of mountain goats and of ibex, particularly close to the summit. Autumn is the deer-rutting season. During the month of October, you can hear and sometimes see the stags marking their territory with this unmistakable bellow, as they attempt to form a harem of hinds.