On the Olive tree road: 2000 years of gourmandise

It follows the valleys of  Eygues, of Ouvèze and of Ennuyé before passing by Nyons, Buis les Baronnies, Arpavon and the villages perched on the Drôme Provençale. Dotted with museums, artisans, and oil mills, the Olive Tree road tells the old, old story of the green gold.

Because it's really thousands of years that we are talking about, all the way back to the image of the olive grove of Baronnies planted 2000 years ago. A hope of a secular life for this tree which starts producing only at seven years of age and reaches its peak at 35. It's immortal too, since even when the trunk dies, shoots start to grow from it to form a new tree.

Here, in Nyons country, it's the  « tanche » (the tench) which has star billing. This prettily plump olive has adapted itself to the sometimes harsh climate of the region. We are, in fact, in the northernmost olive-growing region of France. Harvested ripe, and therefore black, between December and January, lightly lined by the first hoarfrost and the dryness of the air, the tench allowed the region to receive the award of the first Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée of France in 1994. To munch or to savour in the form of oil redolent of green apples, dried fruit and hazelnuts. 

To visit on the olive tree road:

- L'Institut du Monde de l'Olivier (Insititute of the World of Olive Trees) at Nyons, a centre of documentation on olives and olive oil is located in the Afidol premises www.afidol.org - www.monde-olivier.com

- Musée de l'Olivier (Museum of the Olive Tree) at Nyons, olive gathering, presented in old photos, at the mill, illustrated by the presses from the beginning of the 19th  century, this charming little museum tells both the ancient and recent stories of the oil. www.guideweb.com/musee/olivier/

- Le Sentier des Oliviers (The Olive Tree Path) at Nyons a walk of about an hour and a half, among the trees, which offers a stunning view plunging down to the Eygues Valley and the village of Nyons below. See the informative panels that reveal some of the secrets of olives: its arrival in the region, how to cultivate them, and their transformation into oil.

- La Coopérative du Nyonsais (The Nyons Cooperative),  a visit with prior appointment to observe the production of olive oil, from the picking of the fruit, which takes place in winter, a responsibility which, in the 50s, fell on school children, right up to the finished product, which one can buy on the premises of the Cooperative www.coop-du-nyonsais.fr

Photo: Rhône Alpes Tourisme

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