Thierry Lançon, Beekeeper

Rue Saint-Pierre
13480 Cabriès
Tél. 04 42 22 15 99

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A honey what’s more which has survived the arrival of sugar, and today benefits from the label IGP, or Protected Geographical Indication. A consecration for the gold of Provence.

Valensole plateaux, Côte d’Azur, Maures Mountains… In Provence , the climate is dry and the vegetation scarcer than in other regions, which makes the production here only more precious”.

This relative scarcity has never harmed the reputation of Provencal honey, quite the opposite. From the 15th century, Italian merchants were already saying that the honey they bought at the market of Aix-en-Provence was “the best of good honeys”.

“Each honey is characteristic of the region where it is produced”, continues Thierry Lançon. “We can talk of vintages, with soil of different qualities, from which specific vegetation grows”. For Thierry, making honey is a passion that dates back to 2003. A forest ranger at the time, at the Grand Site Sainte-Victoire near Aix-en-Provence, he met a beekeeper who introduced him to the secrets of the liquid gold. With a farming certificate in his pocket, he took the plunge and made it his career. “Today, I have about 200 hives in production, installed on private and municipal properties”, he explains, “Ventabren, Rians, the Albion and 

The extractor has been going for a good hour. From the bucket at its base runs a beautiful golden liquid. “Here is the fruit of the bees’ work”, smiles Thierry Lançon. “To produce a pot of honey, they have gathered nectar from almost 5 million flowers and traveled a distance equal to five times around the world.” But it’s hardly different for the beekeeper: throughout the production season, he moves his hives to sometimes remote territories. In spring, he watches out for the flowering of the rosemary , then the thyme and other local flowers. Later, it will be the lavender, the white heather, and the chestnut tree…

By Jean-Dominique Dalloz - July 16, 2011

Provence honeys are some of the most popular with connoisseurs. Wildflower, lavender, maquis, heather… Provence bees produce fine ‘vintages’, under the direction of passionate beekeepers.

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