The stunning Isle of Saint Honorat

I am now editing the last few days of my South of France holiday. Here are some from our day trip over to the Isle of Saint Honorat (Taken Aug 2019)
Ile de Saint Honorat, Lerins Islands- The shops arcade with the island's home grown wine.
The smaller of the Lerins Island but steeped in history & wine!
The island of Saint Honorat is the smaller of the two inhabited Lerins islands just off the Cote d'Azur coastline. Its main attraction is the monastery of Lerins, a wonderful stone building that is worth a visit.
This island is less touristy than its neighbour Sainte Marguerite. The only occupants are monks that have lived on the island since the 5th century in their very own medieval abbey.

Only 15 minutes by boat, this is a pleasant place to explore and walk to around the pine forests or have a swim in the clear blue water.
The island of Saint Honorat sits in the bay of Cannes, in the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean. The history of this lush island is over 1600 years, with the first monastic community settling there is 405 AD, under the guidance of Saint Honoratus and his companions. Today, twenty-one Cistercian monks live on the island continuing the monastic tradition and live modestly whilst undertaking the production of wine and spirits.

The vineyard itself dates back to the Middle Ages, although it is believed to have existed previously for the purposes of the Eucharist. But it was not until the 1990's that the vineyards were revived professionally.

For the sake of preserving the balance of the island's ecosystem, the Community of monks use no herbicide and salt deposited by the sea breezes also allows natural cleaning. Each year, the grapes are pampered, trimmed, de-budded and harvested entirely by hand.
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