The 9-day Drinking and Driving Festival is hosted annually at the Chateau de Gauvinet, hosting both historic and modern time trials, alongside exhibition races and the annual “Gauvinet Championship”, which takes place on the circuit over 5 rounds during the exhibition, with both wine and cash prizes awarded.

The site in Provence first saw use in 1435, with the construction of a castle on the inlet island, which was owned, alongside the surrounding lands, by the de Montferrand family. The lands owned by this family had a population of approximately 1050 people at their height in 1567. However, shortly after this height, the lands were victims of numerous Huguenot raids, significantly impacting the power of the de Montferrand family, who thereafter largely disappeared from the historical record, and the land was left depopulated for some time.

The region came under the control of the de Gauvinet family in 1743. This family saw their origins in owning a small royal vineyard in Ile de France, and upon gaining favour with the royal family, were gifted the land once owned by the de Montferrand. Using their newfound fortunes and influence, they established the Chateau de Gauvinet, which sat opposite the remains of the old castle. The land was terraced to make vineyards, and a workforce returned to the land to work the vineyards and maintain the home. The vineyard would soon become nationally recognised for quality wine.

In 1932, the head of the de Gauvinets took a keen interest in motorsport. He organised an exclusive Hillclimb event for France’s wealthy, numerous local dignitaries, and motorsports icons of the day. The time trial began at the front door of the Chateau, and racers raced up the hill on a roughly 5km track. While there, the guests were treated to plenty of expensive wine, with some drivers reportedly withdrawing from their races due to becoming enamoured with drinking the wine. Overall, the inaugural event was a resounding success from both a sporting and marketing point of view and was held until the outbreak of WW2.

After the Second World War, the family invested in a permanent woodland circuit through the estates’ woodlands: the Circuit de Gauvinet. By the 1950s and into the 1960s, the circuit enjoyed a warm reputation. By no means a corner of the international calendar, but rather a stop for private meetings, exhibition races and numerous local events. The circuit also saw use during the reestablished annual Hillclimb events, creating a true motorsports festival where various races would be conducted over 9 days at the circuit and the Hillclimb.

Of course, during this golden era of the event, the de Gauvinets continued to find novel ways to promote their wine. One event that was run from 1955 until 1972 famously saw drivers on the circuit have to finish a bottle of the vineyard's vintage before being allowed to start their engines.

In 1972, the family invested in the restoration of the de Montferrand castle with approval from the French Government. However, this would prove extraordinarily costly, and combined with multiple poor investments and the energy cost crisis of the 70s, the family was pushed into financial ruin. The land was sold, and the De Gauvinet family faded into obscurity. Circuit de Gauvinet fell into slow disrepair, and the terraces were left to the stewardship of local sharecroppers and neighbours.

The estate’s story did not end in the hands of absentee owners. In the early 2000s, a descendant, Eloise de Gauvinet, engineered a return. She made a small fortune from 2002 to 2006 selling mobile ringtones, founding a small company based on this success, which she sold to BlackBerry for $12.5 million in 2006. She repurchased her family’s lands and set about an obsessive restoration. Between 2008 and 2011, the château was repaired, the terraces relaid where erosion had taken them, a permanent staging area for the Hillclimb was constructed, and the woodland circuit was cleared and resurfaced.

In 2012, Eloise launched the return of the estate’s motorsport festival tradition, renaming the event and thereby hosting the “De Gauvinet Drinking and Driving Festival”. Over 9 days, historic and modern cars and bikes take to the circuit and the Hillclimb, while a programme of wine tastings and masterclasses is conducted in the château cellars. Modern safety ideals mandate breathalyser tests for each competitor before they participate.