Due to some (logistical) complications for direct delivery to my door, today I had to pick up my first ever on-line order of some wine...🙂...at a (nearby) local business facility, designated as an authorized shipping location for this (on-line) wine vendor. Anyway, the first bottle of wine in the set of 4, that caught my attention was, "2020 Alain Jaume Terrasses de Montmirail Gigondas". Gigondas is a French wine Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in the southern Rhône wine region of France.

As I sipped this wine, I also read the Winemaker's notes about the Gigondas wine, "Deep red garnet color. Aromas typical for Grenache with ripe black fruit, blackberry. A powerful Gigondas, racy but harmonious and well balanced. The finish is long on spices with touches of (pepper) and minerals (crushed rocks, graphite) ...” ... 🙂...Oh well...

The note continues..."Gigondas wine is sourced from the famous wine region in southern Rhône Valley, called “Dentelles de Montmirail”, the landscape of which is made up of jagged mountains (between 1000 and 3000 ft high). Soils are made of clay and sand with limestone. The “Dentelles” appeared thanks to the pressure between the Pyrenees and Alps mountains. This is a land of predilection to produce both powerful and fresh wines".

So, where (exactly) is this Dentelles de Montmirail...🙂...that gave rise to the red wine I'm enjoying today...? I got the curiosity to find out, and MSFS2024 came to my competent (and instant) rescue...🙂...I'd recently explored, here via a post, parts of the Rhône Valley, that extends along the Rhône River from Lyon all the way south to the Mediterranean Sea (actually, I'd explored the Massif Central (highland) region of mountains, that forms the western edge of the Rhône Valley). However, the Dentelles de Montmirail, of my interest in this flight, are a small chain of mountains in Provence in France, located at the southern foothills of the French Alps, along the eastern edge of the Rhône Valley. See my shot #5 below, where "Dentelles de Montmirail" (its Lat/Long waypoint) is shown as "Custom" on the MSFS EFB Map and as "FPL003" on the Garmin MFD Map. These mountains, though small in height (less than 3,000ft), are characterized by the jagged shape of their peaks and sharp-edged ridges and spikes, rising dramatically above the surrounding vineyards.  

I lift off Grenoble Airport (LFLS), from deep within the French Alps, then track the inner (river) valley, to gather sufficient altitude to (safely) cross over the western edge of the Alps mountains and finally direct myself to the "Dentelles de Montmirail". It was worth a (virtual) visit, the topography of Dentelles, that I saw, resembling closely what I had read in the Winemaker's notes...🙂...indeed, a most beautiful (wine) region of dramatic mountains and valleys (see my 5 images, below, in shot #s 9-13). From my vantage point, I could even catch sight of some traces of the vineyards...from where this Gigondas wine is sourced...time to pour another glass...🙂...after this successful flight...

From the Dentelles mountains, I flew on further southward (with an easy [Dir-To] to the "ZEBRA" Fix of ILS Runway 13L) of Marseille Airport (LFML) located on the Mediterranean coast in southern France, for a landing. For my conveyance and companion, on this discovery flight, I've fallen back to one of my most favorite twin-turboprop monoplanes (high-wing; especially fond of them); the Cessna 408 SkyCourier. Here, I've chosen to use the cargo variant of this airplane, which can carry three LD3 load units (see one LD3 unit in my shot #3 below). From takeoff to touchdown, today's (scenic) flight with this nice (and fun) airplane, went remarkably smoothly...perfect GPS Navigation along the zigzag route of my custom waypoints, terminating in a smooth touchdown on the runway at Marseille Airport...

Thanks for viewing...!

Happy Thanksgiving week to the folks in U.S. and happy flying to all ...🙂...!

Some beautiful scenery there in France...captured well in your set. 

9 hours ago, John F said:

Some beautiful scenery there in France...captured well in your set. 

Thank you for chiming in, John.

Yes, agree, I've never been disappointed by the (default) MSFS scenery in France (even in my modest Xbox); wherever I've visited...and I've visited France a lot lately ...🙂...

It was fun discovery flight...

Cheers...!