Domaine du Vieux Lazaret is a vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

 spanning over 250 acres (1 km²) in the Rhône Valley in southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It was originally the site of a Lazarist hospice in the eighteenth century.

History

The origin of the name Vieux Lazaret dates back to the 18th century, when a hospice (or Lazaret) existed in the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-History:Châteauneuf-du-Pape is firmly entwined with papal history. In 1308, Pope Clement V, former Archbishop of Bordeaux, relocated the papacy to the city of Avignon...

. This hospice, provided by the Lazarists

Lazarists

Congregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...

, offered comfort and shelter for the poor and infirm. The Lazarists were a silent order of monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s, which were founded in 1625 by St Vincent de Paul

Vincent de Paul

Vincent de Paul was a priest of the Catholic Church who became dedicated to serving the poor. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He was canonized in 1737....

 to look after the sick and the needy in the French countryside.

The buildings eventually fell into disuse, and were sold by the commune

Commune

Commune may refer to:In society:* Commune, a human community in which resources are shared* Commune , a township or municipality* One of the Communes of France* An Italian Comune...

 during the 19th century to the Quiot family. Afterwards, the Quiot family used the structures as agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 buildings.

Modernization

While originally situated in the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in close proximity to other properties owned by the Quiot family, these original buildings have today been extended and modernized, and now form the main center of the agricultural activities of Vignobles Jérôme Quiot.

Vineyard

The Domaine du Vieux Lazaret is the largest estate

Estate (house)

An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...

 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-History:Châteauneuf-du-Pape is firmly entwined with papal history. In 1308, Pope Clement V, former Archbishop of Bordeaux, relocated the papacy to the city of Avignon...

, and covers over 250 acres (101.2 ha) in 35 different parcels for the production of Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC

Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. It is the most renowned appellation of the southern part of the Rhône Valley...

. Due to its size, the vineyard covers a complex variety of soil type

Soil type

In terms of soil texture, soil type usually refers to the different sizes of mineral particles in a particular sample. Soil is made up in part of finely ground rock particles, grouped according to size as sand, silt and clay...

s. Modern winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

 techniques, along with rigorous selection, are employed in this area to produce wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

. The Quiot family has owned vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s in this region for over 200 years.