Exploring cultures and communities – the slow way

Hidden europe looks at some famous wines used for pastoral purposes and draws the attention to a lesser known one from Moldova and the Ukraine: Kagor

article summary —

The business of how wines are marketed often surpasses understanding. Châteauneuf-du-Pape surely benefits among Roman Catholics as having some sound papal patronage, though in truth the wine simply takes its name from the village where Pope John XXII, during the years of the Avignon Papacy, made his summer residence. Nowadays the ruined papal palace is still there on the low hills overlooking the Rhône Valley, but the two thousand souls who reside in Châteauneuf probably have no more or less intimate a connection with the papacy than those of any other village in the region.

But there is one sacramental wine which, in terms of sheer interest, value for money and drinkability, stands head and shoulders above the rest of the bunch. Yet it remains strangely unknown in western Europe.


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About the authors

hidden europe

and manage hidden europe, a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. Nicky and Susanne are dedicated slow travellers. They delight in discovering the exotic in the everyday.

This article was published in hidden europe 4.