France’s high speed train, the TGV, will one day carry passengers between Toulouse and Narbonne.  The line will also have a Carcassonne stop.  I’m following developments in the planning of this future train line pretty closely.  I’ve uploaded the slideshow presented to the public recently concerning potential installation sites for the new tracks around Carcassonne [...]

2011 Vintage Report People have been asking me about how the vintage is going to turn out since back in August.  I’m always hesitant to guess at quality that early in the game, and this year is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be too confident in our speculation. All year, the vines were [...]

We had a great surprise during harvest. One of our friends dropped by with a crate of freshly picked mushrooms from the Malepere (southwest of Carcassonne and northwest of Limoux)! So in the midst of harvest chaos we had time to make some delicious mushrooms. People around here know what mushrooms to pick, but even [...]

Carcassonne and the surrounding area are very popular travel destinations because of the charm, character and history of the region.  Rather than staying at a cookie-cutter hotel when you visit Carcassonne, consider taking advantage of some of the incredibly unique accommodations available in the area. Obviously if you’re looking for holiday accommodation on a vineyard, [...]

This is a list of accommodations on the Canal du Midi and Canal du Rhone. These are bed & breakfasts, gites or other lodging alternatives that let you sleep on a boat that cruises down some of France’s grooviest canals. Obviously, I’d like to see you stay at O’Vineyards Bed & Breakfast which is a [...]

This summer, we were very excited to be featured in a special wine issue of L’Express magazine in France.  This is a national magazine and the equivalent of TIME in the United States.  So it’s got a wide reach, and the people reading it aren’t necessarily wine geeks. Billing me as an American in Carcassonne, [...]

I just had a spectacular hike to the Chateaux de Lastours last night where we had a picnic and watched the sunset. One of my buddies at ESC Dijon’s wine commerce program stayed at the B&B this week with his girlfriend. And Gabriella Opaz came up from Barcelona too. Everybody asked me how they could [...]

This post is about charming Bed & Breakfast rooms available in Carcassonne. Obviously, I’d love for you to come and stay with me at O’Vineyards B&B, but we’re not very close to the castle.  So if you like slurping red wine and you’re going to have a car, you can come sleep at our place. [...]

Grape harvest in the south of France The grapes are changing color and that reminds us that harvest time is right around the corner.  We get exceptionally busy around harvest, but we leave the door open and let tourists come to the vineyard and see exactly how harvest goes down.  Some people actually roll up [...]

This is an index of an ongoing series of posts about what people can do in and around Carcassonne.  Millions of people visit the medieval citadel (the Cité de Carcassonne) each year, but what should they do after  walking those gorgeous castle ramparts? I obviously recommend visiting my winery at O’Vineyards.  We offer a full [...]