A Little Family Mystery about Le Barroux Resolved

Who doesn't love a good family mystery? 

My father Daniel Augsburger was born in Switzerland. His mother was French and at a young age, the family moved to the South of France. He came to the United States in 1939, just prior to World War II for college and pursue graduate degrees at the University of Michigan. 

Long story short, he never returned to live in France, met my mother Joyce at the University of Michigan and was offered an opportunity to teach, first at the University of Michigan then at Emmanuel Missionary College, now Andrews University in Berrien Spring, Michigan.

I was lucky over the years that I was able to travel with my parents along with sister Lydie and brother Dan as money permitted to visit his family living in France and Switzerland. I also got to live for one year in Strasbourg, France while he was on a study sabbatical. So we got to know our aunt's, uncles, cousins and other extended family members quite well.

I have looked at dad's Kodak slides and picture albums that record our trips to France and Switzerland many times over the years. A few years ago, my brother sent me CDs with pictures my father or someone else had taken of he and his family and some of he and mom at their wedding near Geneva, Switzerland. 

I learned from cousins back in 2014 that our grandfather had owned a house in Le Barroux, France. I am not sure if I ever saw the picture below before we bought our house in Sablet but it immediately caught my eye when I saw it on the CD because it showed it was in a town called Le Barroux. 

Image of Road Sign and House found on Augsburger CD

If I had seen the picture before, it wouldn't have meant anything to me because Le Barroux could have been anywhere in France or French-speaking Switzerland as far as I was concerned. However, since we have gotten to know the area around Sablet, I know Le Barroux is a small village (population 629 in 2017) set on a hill topped by a large 12th century castle just 13 miles from Sablet. 

Le Barroux Castle

We come to Le Barroux from time to time to hike around the village and to visit Sainte Madeleine du Barroux Abbey located outside of town. We also come to buy locally grown saffron as I told you about here. So when I saw the picture on the CD I was excited to confirm that my grandfather owned a house so close to our village and I like to think that my father probably spent time in the area. 

Sainte Madeleine du Barroux

The Le Barroux castle was built to oppose Saracen and Italian incursions and went through major rebuilding in the 16th and 17th centuries. The castle was damaged during the French revolution, was repaired in 1929 with private funds, set on fire by German occupation forces in 1944 as reprisal for acts of resistance, and restored again in 1960.

Le Barroux Castle

After failing to find the house when we first tried in 2014, I was eager to try again with the picture of the road sign from the CD as my guide to the property. So on October 6, 2018, with my cousins Jean Marc and Christine in tow, we headed off for Le Barroux to find the house or what was left of it. 

We arrived in Le Barroux and parked in the center of the village. We confidently walked up to the first person we encountered, a man walking on the street, who confirmed he lived in Le Barroux so told him what we were doing and showed him our picture. 

We were disappointed when he said he didn't know the village that well and these roads nor house looked familiar to him. He suggested we go see a lady who lived close by that he knew walks all over Le Barroux, maybe she would know where the house was located?

We knocked on her door and she opened. We explained to her what we were trying to find and why and showed her my picture. Turns out, she was born in the same town in Switzerland as my dad. She said she had an idea where these roads crossed and invited us in. She led us to her computer and pulled up maps of the area and pointed out where she thought it was and gave us some general directions.

We figured out if she was right that the house was out in the direction of the saffron farm we had previously visited. After a couple of wrong turns and ending up on a very little road, we found the sign for Chemin Aqueduc and Chemin De Bois Long. As I said it was a very little road and more like a path which is in fact the English translation for "chemin".

Matching Road Sign

From the junction where we stopped we could see a house that matched the one in the picture on the CD. Backed up to a forested area and vineyards all the way around the rest of the property, we could imagine why the property appealed to my grandfather. No one was around and it was hard to tell if the property was still inhabited or not.  

Le Barroux House

Le Barroux House

While we were standing there chatting about the area and house, a car drove up, it was our new Swiss friend from Le Barroux who had driven out to see if she was right about the location of the roads. 

Happy Cousins with Le Barroux House in Distance

This past July 27, Shirley and I drove to Le Barroux to see if we could find the property again. Shirley was quite sure she could, I didn't really have a clue besides being near L'Aube Safran. Thankfully, Shirley was right, she says women are better with directions because they have uterus homing device to find things.

One of the crossroads is called "Chemin Aqueduct" so I assumed that if we followed the path we might find an old aqueduct. Sure enough, after a walk down a dirt path off the main "Chemin Aqueduc" path, we found the remains of an aqueduct. 

Le Barroux Aqueduct

This was the remainder of an aqueduct built around 1840 by the Commune of Le Barroux. Le Barroux lacked water and the Commune built a 4 km long canal and this aqueduct to bring water from a spring near St Andeol. Only one arch remains, the aqueduct is unusual in that the canal rests on a circle rather than pillars. 

Le Barroux Aqueduct

I am happy this mystery is solved. I hope to find some family member who can tell me when grandfather bought the property, if there was a particular reason why he bought here and how long he owned it. I would love to know for sure if dad spent time at this house. I assume yes since he had this photograph in his very large collection of family pictures.

If you are thinking about a trip to the South of France including spending time in Provence, we invite you to visit our website. Our house is available for rent by the week or more. We still have weeks open in November and through the end of the year and in 2022 and beyond. You can reach me for further information by sending an email to chcmichel@aol.com. 

Le Barroux, a Village with an Impressive Château

After a delicious lunch at Le Tourne au Verre in Cairanne that I told you about here, we headed for Le Barroux. I had recently been told that my grandfather owned a home in Le Barroux and I was on a mission to find the house.

It was exciting to think that grandfather had owned a house so close to our village and that surely my father must have come to that house. I had no idea how I was going to find the house since I didn't have an address or know anything further than he had a house there.

A friend's father told me about going to his parent's village in Sicily and not knowing anybody or where they lived, he walked into the village and loudly called out his family name and several relatives materialized from houses. I wondered if that might work for me but opted to just walk around.

Le Barroux is a small village (population 656) in the Vaucluse, southeast of Sablet, perched on a rocky outcrop on the other side of the Dentelles de Montmirail from Sablet. Le Barroux is known for its château perched like an eagle's nest right at the top of the village.

Le Barroux Château

The château was built in the 12th century as a defense against Saracen and Italian incursions, and went through major overhauls in the 16th and 17th centuries. The château was damaged during the French Revolution, repaired in 1929 using private funds, set on fire by German occupation troops in 1944 as reprisal for acts of resistance, and restored again after 1960.

Le Barroux Defensive Wall

Shirley and Kari explore Le Barroux

The Hôtel Dieu, the original hospital of Le Barroux was built in the 16th century. It is now privately owned.

Le Barroux Hôtel Dieu (hospital)

During the off-season, like when we were there, the village seems a bit sleepy, as if it's more of a place to vacation than to live. It's very pretty and not spoiled by shops selling trinkets for tourists. The narrow streets wind between lovely old buildings, with many little squares with fountains hidden away for discovery.

Le Barroux street

Sign marking the entrance to the old olive oil mill built in 1792

Inside the old olive oil mill

Le Barroux Town Hall

Le Barroux Château

Construction for the Roman style Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church began in the 14th century. The iron campanile was added in the 16th century.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church Belfry and Iron Campanile

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church

Outside the village is the Benedictine Abbey named Sainte Madeleine du Barroux, founded in 1978 by a French Roman Catholic abbot named Dom Gérard Calvet. If you are interested, the monks of Sainte Madeleine du Barroux stream their chanted Office each day. You can get more details on their website.

Sainte Madeleine du Barroux Abbey

Besides the beauty of the abbey and site, this abbey is also a worthwhile stopping point for foodies. Much of the produce sold in its shop is generated by the monks who live and farm here; the logo MO-NAS-TIC indicates which items are theirs. With 900 olive trees and a mill developed in 2000, the abbey has become famous for its olive oil.

Nearby, is L'Aube Safran, which produces the most fragrant saffron as I told you here.

The Interior of Sainte Madeleine du Barroux Abbey

Well after wandering around the Le Barroux, I didn't find anyone or anyplace that would give me any leads for finding my grandfather's house. I did find out that Charles, Prince of Wales spent a week in Le Barroux back in November of 1990, convalescing after an operation.

With my father gone, and most of his cousins gone or fading memories or knowledge, I am not hopeful that I will ever discover it. But it's fun to wander around and imagine my father exploring the village years ago.

Have a great day. Chat soon.

L'Aube Safran, a saffron farm in Provence

For the last 20 years, we have lived in Northern California where we can easily find locally produced wines, cheese, fruits, mushrooms, vegetables and proteins including lamb, poultry, rabbit, and beef. We are very close to the Pacific Ocean and its bounty of fresh fish and shellfish.

One of my favorite things about owning Bistro Des Copains, the small French bistro I co-own in Occidental California with my friend Cluney, has been the opportunity to meet some of the men and women who are behind those products. Men and women like Jennifer Bice, Burt Williams, Eva Dehlinger, Nikolai Stez, Daniel Schoenfeld, Rick Moshin, Kurt Beitler, Bob Appleby and Eric Sussman to name just a few.

I tell you, you have a better appreciation for the wines and cheese and other products they make when you meet them and learn their backgrounds and how they got into business and hear stories about their struggles with weather, fires, the economy and even movies like Sideways which killed the market for Merlot wines.

The same is true for Sablet, a small medieval village in the Vaucluse where we live part of the year. Sablet is surrounded by vineyards from which the local vignerons make world renown wines. Besides wine, we find local cheeses, a bounty of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, olives and olive oil. We are only a little over one hour from the Mediterranean Sea so there is a plentiful supply of fresh fish and shellfish.

Before we started coming to Sablet, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Tavel and Cassis were just names on labels of wine bottles. Oh I knew these names meant the wines were probably very good but I didn't know anything about their location, history or terroir - special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate gives the grapes and in turn you smell and taste when you drink wine.

Now that we have visited these villages and met some of the wine making families, those names on labels immediately paint a picture in my mind of where the wines were made. I promise you that going to the source adds a layer of enjoyment to wine and food that you can't get unless you have been there.

There are products we can find in Sablet that we can't find in Northern California. As you probably know, the Vaucluse region is a major producer of black truffles and the largest truffle market in France takes place in nearby Richerenches every Saturday from November to March.

But did you know that saffron is produced in small quantities in the Vaucluse? A few weeks ago, we went to Le Barroux, a small village about 1/2 hour from Sablet known for its château perched on top of the village.

From Le Barroux, you have great views of Mont Ventoux.

We came to Le Barroux to visit L'Aube Safran, a small bed and breakfast near the village owned by Francois Pillet and his wife Marie, he's an architect and designed their home and she's an interior decorator.

In 1992, the Pillet's left Paris for Carcassonne to learn about growing grapes and making wine. Diplomas in hand, their search for land to start up a winery led them to Provence where they learned about organic farming and discovered that saffron had been produced in the area between the 14th and 19th centuries.

The Pillets have planted crocus flowers, the source for the stigmas that become saffron in terraced fields of 200 to 300 square meters - 2000 to 3000 square feet around the house. They keep the fields small to prevent the spread of disease. They use no chemical products for growing the crocus.

Lucky for us, the purple crocus flowers were coming up and the harvest was just getting started. The harvest normally occurs between early October and the first part of November.

The Pillets have about 200,000 crocus planted on terraced fields around their property. The crocus flower and leaves appear at the same time during the fall. The leaves remain throughout the winter, dry in the spring and then disappear.

The purple flowers grow from bulbs planted when they are 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter to a little over 1 inch tall. In addition to saffron, the Pillets sell crocus bulbs and say that crocus thrives in areas where vineyards and olive trees do well. I told wife Shirley that we should plant our yard in crocus and start producing saffron. She didn't seem all that excited about this idea.

Saffron is the red stigma of the purple crocus flower and must be picked from the flower by hand. The stigmas are then dried.

Every crocus flower has 3 stigmas and it takes 200 flowers to make 1 gram or 0.3 ounces of dried saffron.

The entire yield of dried saffron from the crocus they have planted is 1 kilogram. In addition to selling bulbs and dried saffron, they also sell a variety of chutneys and tapenade made with saffron.

We didn't exactly load up on saffron at L'Aube Safran, its the most expensive spice in the world and a little goes a long way, but we did buy some small bottles for gifts and to use at home. This 2 gram - 0.6 ounce bottle of dried saffron cost 49 Euros or $65.00.

As I said earlier, going to the source, in this case L'Aube Safran, and seeing what it takes to produce the dried saffron we add almost without thinking to dishes like Paella, Bouillabaisse, and Risotto Milanese will make those dishes taste even better the next time.

I think we sometimes take for granted what it takes for a farmer or other artisan to get those fresh fruits and vegetables, olives, olive oil, spices and other foods we enjoy to your favorite market in Provence or where you live; I know I do.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Saffron in Provence

Near the base of Mont Ventoux is where you will find the village of Le Barroux in the Vaucluse region of Provence France.

Perched on a rocky outcrop, halfway between Carpentras and Vaison la Romaine, Le Barroux is a charming picturesque village that's worth a visit.

Just a short walk from the village is charming L'Aube Safran. L'Aube Safran has 1,000 square meters planted with saffron crocus from which saffron is produced.




The crocus flowers are harvested between October and November and the 3 stigmas from each flower are picked and then dried. The stigmas lose 70% of their weight during the drying process.
It takes 200 crocus flowers to produce 1.0 gram of dried saffron. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. L'Aube Safran is located about 27 km from Sablet; it takes about 30 minutes to drive from Sablet.
L'Aube Safran is definitely worth a visit if you are in the Vaucluse and especially so if you are a foodie like me. Francois and Marie are wonderful hosts and you will be warmly greeted and entertained during your visit. You can buy saffron as well as products made with saffron.