Odenas: Mont Brouilly, Wine and Wineries

Odenas brings together two distinct themes for a trip: the landscape around Mont Brouilly and the Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly appellations. If you’re looking for a hotel in Odenas, these highlights can help shape your idea of a stay: views, vineyards and wineries each offer a different focus. Local features include a rounded summit of volcanic origin, an extensive wine-growing landscape and the history of a family-run winery classified as a historic monument. When making your choice, it may help to distinguish between enjoying the landscape, discovering wine culture and arranging a visit in advance.

Mont Brouilly: Views and Geology

Mont Brouilly lies within the territory of Odenas and Saint-Lager. From there, the view extends across the Saône Valley, Bresse and the Dombes. The summit is rounded and volcanic in origin. The blue stone of Mont Brouilly consists of crystals of basalt, iron silicate and magnesium. This brings together two distinct perspectives: the view from the mountain across named landscapes and the properties of the rock itself. If you want to make your stay about more than wine and include the landscape and geology, Mont Brouilly offers a specific connection to those themes.

Wine Country and Wineries

Odenas includes the Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly appellations, whose appellation areas contain 560 hectares of cultivated vineyards. Château de La Chaize has 99 hectares of contiguous vineyards in Odenas. These figures show different aspects of the wine-growing landscape: the vineyards within the appellation areas and the contiguous land of a single winery.

Château de La Chaize has been a family-run winery for 350 years and is classified as a historic monument. Its features include gardens, a fermentation cellar and a 108-metre-long cellar. Its family history, classification and architectural features give the winery a distinctive profile within the local wine culture. If you’re interested in historic wineries, these features offer several specific points of interest, though they should not be taken to mean that a visit is available without an appointment.

There is a clear practical requirement for visiting Château de Nervers: visits are available by appointment. At the end of the visits, the winery’s wines are offered for sale. If you plan to visit, arrange an appointment in advance.

Routes and Culinary Tradition

The Circuit Brouilly runs through vineyards and forests and offers views, including from Mont Brouilly. The route therefore combines two landscape experiences: vineyards and wooded sections, as well as views from the summit. For travellers who prefer to experience the landscape along a route, this is a different approach from exploring the wine appellations or the features of a single winery.

The Fête du Paradis tradition includes preparing saucisson in “gène,” the residue left after the grapes are pressed. It is cooked in large outdoor cauldrons in full view of the public. This method of preparation links the dish to a specific stage of winemaking: it uses the residue left after pressing the grapes. Along with vineyards, wineries and landscapes, this culinary tradition is another theme you can use to shape your travel interests.

Discover more destinations: Longes, Mions, Châtillon, Ville-Sur-Jarnioux, Pollionnay, Vernaison, Craponne, Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or

For the broader travel overview: Rhône.