Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a village in the Vaucluse, 3 kilometres east of the Rhône and 12 kilometres north of Avignon, below the ruin of a castle built for Pope John XXII in the 14th century. Almost all its cultivable land is under vines. Its wine, one of the most renowned appellations of the southern Rhône, comes from the commune and parts of Bédarrides, Courthézon and Sorgues, over slightly more than 3,200 hectares. Under John XXII the wines of the area came to be known as Vin du Pape, the name that later became Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In 1335 Benedict XII granted the village a Tuesday market. Climb to the castle for the view over the vines.