La Cave Des Ours - Aix-en-Provence

We found this quaint, clean, cozy cafe on our excursion tour to Aix en Provence during our free time to explore. It was hot out, and we needed some French wine and cafe. The owners are fantastic and speak English. They offered me some samples of two excellent red French wines. One was an organic red wine called Calamite. It was THE BEST wine I had in all of Europe, so far. It was so good, that we bought a bottle to bring back home. Also, their cappuccinos were good and the bathroom was really clean and had lavender soap and paper towels. The AC felt great too, sitting in the cozy atmosphere. What a great place to visit while in Aix en Provence! Plus, it was reasonably priced, and they offer fresh, farmers market style foods, meats, and cheeses along with craft beers, and natural wines and coffees. The owners were super nice too.

We had a fantastic experience here tasting interesting, unique natural wines from vineyards we would never have found without the careful curation and enthusiastic help of the owner. We were in Aix and had a sudden urge to go out to try some wines from the region after most wine stores had closed for the evening. We stopped by hoping for a glass or two and maybe a snack and we walked away with as much information as we cared to ask for about each of the wines we tried and a very fun memory. We even got background information on each of the cheeses we snacked on, where she knew many of the owners and clearly had put a lot of thought into what worked best with the selection of wines on offer. We walked away with five or six bottles, including a few Chateauneuf de Pape I am excited to drink once they finish maturing. I will happily return the next time I'm in the city to buy more. As an American who doesn't speak French and isn't a Sommelier, often in Provence you can be scared to ask questions about the delicious wine you're drinking because of both the language and knowledge barrier. Many wine professionals in France cater to the highest denominator, only sharing information useful to technical experts who know all the different grades of the Rhone. At Cave des Ours, we had the opposite experience. The owner greeted us with a smile she speaks perfect English after having grown up in the US and when we asked, we learned her story of marrying a proud French man and sharing a passion for the wines of Provence. We also got whatever information we asked about the wines we were tasting and very helpful recommendations. Even when we didn't really know what we were asking for, she asked useful questions and brought wines that were somehow exactly what we wanted to try even though we didn't know enough to ask for them by any real description. This is not a very commercial, especially touristy establishment. It is very local and tucked away but it is still accessible. People hang out for a while, talking to each other and occasionally asking questions about the wine. There is a limited selection to choose from because they only stock wines where she has personally met the person who makes it, so she has all the information at hand that you could want to know from the personality of the wine to the personality of the winemaker! And she is generous with her time, showing true passion for her business and her customers. I strongly recommend a visit, even if only to ask a question and buy a bottle to go.

Like a mini wine tour but in a fun and quaint little shop with knowledgeable couple who loves their wine and truly cares about your experience. Marie was fantastic and selected some wines we would have never asked for but were awesome. You won’t expect to be able to do a tasting here because it is a proper wine shop but go in and ask. Highly recommend and the wines were very unique and special!

We found this place by chance during a cruise excursion and I am so happy we did. We were able to taste some of the wonderful wines on offer along with hearing a little bit about each of them. We are looking forward to coming back!

We were delighted to discover this simple little wine bar close to the Cathedral. Although small, the bar is stylish, immaculately clean welcoming. The owners are so pleasant friendly allowing us to try samples of their organic/bio dynamic wines before ordering patiently answering all our questions. We enjoyed a lovely cheese board (they also offer charcuterie veggie/vegan boards). We were only sorry it was our last day in Aix as we would happily have revisited!