The Domaine St George has many outstanding features. Hosts John and Maureen’s lively and generous warmth. Lovely old country chateau, completely upgraded and charming. Location in Southern France. Food. Wine. Events. Activities. Each of these makes the Domaine St. George an unusually fine destination.

Maureen and John are warm, fun and helpful hosts. They welcomed us, strangers from the US, like we were family. Originally from England, they are “foodies” attracted to Limoux for its obvious charm. They suggested and arranged appointments for us for many delightful activities and dinners.

Charming French country chateau with beautiful decor. Refreshing new swimming pool and outdoor sitting areas. You can dine in front under lovely shade tree with views of surrounding vineyards and hills — or inside in the lovely formal dining room.

The cycling portion of our customized trip was organized by Mike Khaw, owner of Agile Compass. He organized everything – booking Domaine St. George, excellent road bikes from and managing everything for a great cycling trip.

The Limoux-area is like the California Napa Valley wine growing areas. But the towns, cathedrals, and sites are centuries old here — not decades old like in the California Wine Region. The cafes and restaurants are French — that says a lot. And, there is very little traffic.The lush Limoux greenery was a stark contrast to in golden California. Like Napa, the rolling terrain can include challenging climbs.

Domaine St. George is nestled in vineyards. From our bedroom window we saw rippling fields of vines with lush purple grapes and rolling green hills in the background. Fields of sunflowers, their heavy heads drooping, were ready for harvest. In September, people and tractors the harvest was in full tilt.

Sparkling wine was first made by monks in nearby Saint Hilaire Abbey. In 1938, Languedoc AOC was awarded for the Blanquette of Limous and the Blanquette ancestral method. Maureen and John recommended 3 wineries for the one afternoon we had free to taste wines. The first, Gayda was a modern, friendly winery, reminiscent of a California winery. The second, Domaine de Fourn reflected four generations of Blanquette. Sieur d’Arques was a modern tasting room — a consortium of many wineries.

The food! Maureen’s fine breakfasts and dinners delighted us. A Week of Gluttony but we just skimmed the choices of restaurants. Maureen is an excellent chef and we enjoyed our private dinners here. We loved dinners at Bacchus and D’Odestan as well.

John and Maureen took us to a fabulous winery party with generous wine and folks from the local community. Our hosts knew of many local festivals and markets in the area. Immense Carcassonne and quaint Bugarach are also worth visiting. The Domaine St. George is a marvelous vacation destination for many reasons.