Wineries, Vineyards in Provence

[Scoop]

My wife and I will be in Provence, based in Ansouis in the Luberon, for a couple of weeks in October. She's a food and travel writer; the wine side is where I pull my weight.

We never been in Provence before (except through its food and wines!), so there will be a lot of discovery going on, including visiting a lot of wineries.

I'm armed with Oz Clarke's Wine Companion for the South of France, and we will certainly spend a day or two in the obvious AOC's (Tavel, Chateauneuf du Pape, etc.), but are there any suggestions out there for "must visit" wineries, particularly those that don't get much play on this side of the Atlantic (and those that have unique winemaking styles), especially in Les Baux.

I realize it's harvest time and that the small producers won't have much time for visitors. And my French is merely functional, not fluent.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'll certainly be taking copious tasting notes to share in the future.

Cheers,

C. Matthews