Page 50 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2020 SPRING EDITION INTERACTIVE

Culinary temptation is inescapable in
France, and we find ample belt-loosening
enticements in the villages nearby. In
Pont-du-Loup, tucked into a dramatic
river gorge, we nosh on crystallized,
sugar-coated violet petals and handmade
chocolates on a tour of Confiserie Florian
candy factory.

Just downhill from our villa, at Moulin
d’Opio olive oil producers, we sample
varieties infused with truffles, thyme and
rosemary, garlic and basil, and lemons,
all made on site. There’s also an orange
flavored olive oil, which guide Laetitia
Agnello suggests mixing into cake batter.

“We don’t use butter in cakes,” says Ag-
nello, whose husband’s family has been
in the oil business here for seven genera-
tions. “We use olive oil for everything!”

At Tourettes-sur-Loup, a huddle of
centuries-old stone houses and shops
perched atop a bluff overlooking the
Loup Valley, Chef Julien Bousseau offers
a winetasting at Le 19 du Clovis Bar and
Cave à Vins. Bousseau, who runs the
Michelin-starred Bistrot Gourmand Clovis
next door with his wife, Leah Van Der
Mije, is as passionate about life in this
small village as he is about the food and
wine he serves.

“This village is still authentic—more quiet,
not busy,” Bousseau says, as we savor
a Cotes du Provence white wine with a
plate of sardines. “We have a butcher, a
bakery, and we know all the neighbors.
It’s like it was 50 years ago.” The Moulin d’Opio, run by the same
family for seven generations, offers
tours where you can learn how olive
oil is produced. The factory shop sells
ten different olive oils, including five
flavored varieties which are used for
everything from salad dressings to
cake batter.

50 WDT MAGAZINE SPRING 2017