Nyons

Fifteen kilometres north of Vaison-la-Romaine lies the town of Nyons, saved from the mistral’s icier blasts by a protective circle of mountains. Its mild ‘micro-climate’ (as the locals proudly call it) is probably responsible for the excellence of Nyons olive oil, one of the best in the Midi. There are several olive oil mills in the town. One, the Huilerie du Pont Roman, stands next to a fifteenth-century humped-back stone bridge which curves gracefully over the River Eygues and from which the mill takes its names. Just down the road is La Scourtinerie, a beautiful 100-year-old factory in which Alain Fert sells local products and makes squashy pillow-shaped ‘scourtins’ - the hemp filters that have been used in oil, apple and honey presses since his grandfather invented the machinery to produce them in 1882.