The commune of Nyons, first mentioned in documents from the first century, is in the Drôme Provençale of southern France. Sheltered from the mistral wind by mountains which capture rain, Nyons enjoys more than 2,700 hours of sunlight per year, on par with the French Riviera. It has thereby earned its title of "Petit Nice" and is the ideal place to grow an array of crops, the most famous of which are olives.

The Nyons area is the northern-most olive-growing region in the world; olives have been cultivated here since the 4th century B.C. La perle noire or "the black pearl", as the Tanche varietal of olives is called, has a large pit and a sweet meaty flavor. The olives can be brined, dry-cured, or crushed to make a delicious spread known as tapenade. The Tanche also produces some of the most refined olive oil. As such, the Nyons region prides itself on producing one of the best olive oils in the world. Its 250,000 olive trees produce 400 tons of olives for eating and 200 tons of olive oil per year.

Nyons possesses an embarrassment of natural riches. Located in a region which grows lavender, the town is often bathed in a wonderful lavender scent. Around Nyons, one may also discover many other herbs like rosemary, thyme, and savory. Less than 20 minutes away is Richerenches, the world capital of truffles. In the east, apricot and cherry trees cover the slopes and valleys of Sainte-Jalle with their delicate flowers and fruits.

No other plant enjoys such universal fame. The olive branch has become an emblem for the United Nations and the Olympics; the olive tree was an inspiration for painters like Van Gogh, Braque, and Cezanne; and the olive itself is the centerpiece of the healthy Mediterranean diet.

The cultivation of the wild olive tree started more than 5,000 years ago. Back then, humanity had already noticed that the green or black fruits of the olive tree were particularaly nutritious. As cultivation techniques gradually improved, olives became one of the three fundamental nutriments across the Mediterranean. (Wheat and wine were the other two.) Though the olive tree was primarily cultivated to make olive oil for consumption, the Greeks and Romans also discovered its ability to soften skin, warm muscles, prevent dermatosis, and treat burns. They also developed perfumes by combining olive products with flower petals. That means olives have been used as skin care ingredients since 500 BC!

Grown in a unique climate with special cultivation routines, Nyons’s olives are famous for their extremely high nutritional value.

The scents of south France are too complex and evocative to capture in a sentence. There is one distinctive aroma that is often hailed as the signature. Called garrigue, it comes from the bushy, fragrant plants found growing wild on the limestone hills of the Mediterranean coast. This vegetation provides the foundation for the Côte d’Azur’s unique fragrance. It is a heady mix of juniper, thyme, sage and lavender, with the name garrigue used to refer to them collectively.