As seen in the picture above, Domaine de Bagnol in Cassis is a pure paradise of vineyards surrounded by mountains on 3 sides and the sea on the other (out of sight to the right). The climate is surprisingly fresh due to the winds that blow regularly keeping out diseases and promoting organic viticulture, with low humidity and heaps of sunshine whilst temperatures rarely exceed the low 90s in the heat of the summer. I arrived in the morning on September 30th and the temperature was a glorious 69 degrees, with nary a cloud in sight and the sun glowing above, coating everything in it's golden light and warmth. A cool breeze was rustling through the vines bringing with it the unmistakable whiff of sea spray. I joined up with sister and brother team Lisa and Sebastien Genovesi, the former who declared emphatically that there was no excuse to not be organic in their region, a sentiment echoed by all the other winemakers I met in Bandol , the Luberon and Southern Rhone. As one said, when it rains in Lyon and the Northern Rhone, we get the winds instead, the Mistral. The two gins in the picture below says it all...