Bienvenue à la Cave Coopérative!

Although other regions might dispute the idea, Languedoc-Roussillon was apparently the first place to have a cooperative wine cellar in France. At the end of the nineteenth century a group of winemakers in a small town near Béziers decided to band together to save on the cost of facilities, equipment, and marketing. Since that time, about half of the country began developing caves, including Bédoin in 1924. While it may not be true in other parts of France, the cooperative here seems to be an important presence in town.


La Cave VMV (les Vignerons du Mont Ventoux), along with the church, are among the first sights for visitors coming into Bédoin from Carpentras. Open every day of the week, with the obligatory break for lunch, the main building (or le caveau de dégustation) primarily serves as a place to taste and buy local wines. Wine is sold in bottles, for the most part, but there are boxes available, as well as a kind of “service station” area with pumps, where you can get large, plastic, recyclable containers to fill with VMV wine at a reduced price. Near the front of the caveau, there’s a small boutique which sells wine-related items like glasses, carafes, and corkscrews and Provençal products such as soaps, lotions, herbs, and chocolate. The caveau’s informative manager, Mireille, a smiling, middle-aged woman, is always ready to distribute substantial amounts of local wines and discuss them with anyone interested. We’ve learned quite a bit from her about the different soils in the area and the fact that the designation A.O.C. (appellation d’origine contrôlée) does not always indicate the best wines of a given region. Some local bio (“organic ”) producers, for example, do not have limitations on what grapes to use and irrigation controls which come with A.O.C. wines and their products are, at least to our tastes, superior.

Another thing which we really enjoy about la cave is the monthly soirées they hold on Friday nights. At the end January, for example, we attended their Découverte du Nouveau Millésime (“Discovery of the New Vintage”) party where they featured not only red, white, and rosé VMV wines but des omelettes aux truffes to accompany them. I couldn’t imagine an American wine store paying the price of all those eggs, not to mention the truffles, for twenty or so people. Earlier this month, la cave had another one of their special thematic events: la Chasse aux Trésors. Part of the evening was devoted to a "treasure hunt" to find hidden pictures of chickens and win chocolate bunnies for Easter. They also had tastings of bio wines and platters of cheese from La Fromagerie Vigier in Carpentras. The get-togethers at la cave are great, allowing us new taste experiences and the opportunity to meet people who live in and around Bédoin. This last time we were able to discuss cheese with Mme Claudine Vigier and her husband Roland Barthélémy, a well-known maître fromager ("master cheese seller") from Paris. La cave is one of the main centers of activity in the town.