The olives from Ardèche are baptized « rougette », « négrette », « picholine » or also, « blanche de Payzac » and Catherine Gohier invites her guests to the discovery of them during a weekend when the activity of the oil mill, the Moulin de l’Olivier , is working at maximum capacity.

It is an exceptional occasion to discover the landscapes and resources of the ardéchois Cévennes, at the end of autumn, in this village perched in the heart of the terraced vineyards which produce very particular wines, which we will talk about later on…

The weekend begins at the Vans market, to find the local producers who propose other products besides the fruit of the olive tree. You will even discover some gift ideas. Then you will cross the olive fields to go to the mill « lo molin de Vincent », in local dialect, to listen to Dominique Vincent talk about the olive, the oil, its history and its manufacture. He is inexhaustible and his audience is always enchanted.

After a tasting-session of different vintages and even eggs fried in olive oil, it is time for Catherine to unpack the picnic basket, Meat pies, pâtés, mixed salads, sweet chestnut cake…

Back to the Mas de la Cigale, where it is then a question of wine and of different and confidential types of vines which can be found nowhere else. It is not by chance that the weekend is proposed at this time of the year, but because it is the date of the release of Chatus, a powerful wine from Ardèche with a strong constitution which is not only served with dinner, but also used for the ‘Daube’ (stew) that Catherine prepares herself, to splendidly end an unforgettable day.