CHÂTEAU DE MONTFRIN RHONE, FRANCE

Situated on the most eastern & southern slopes of the Rhône, Château de Montfrin is a great & beautiful house that has been an important site for centuries, as it has always played host to travelers and statesmen alike, including Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint-Louis, Louis XIII, and Molière. In the 1990s, Jean-René de Fleurieu (who grew up in Montfrin and whose grandfather purchased the estate in 1924) planted 250 acres of olive trees and 250 acres of vines in order to create local jobs and make delicious and affordable wines that have always been produced organically. Jean-René is also a filmmaker and co-founded the well-known Paris fashion brand, Agnes B. (He also has a wooly mammoth skeleton in his tank room!)