Definition: Provence

The area covered by vineyards extends over 65,000 hectares. This vast region enjoys 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Rainfall is rare but heavy. The terrain is relatively rugged. The vineyards begin at the Mediterranean coast and extend inland for 50 kilometres. The diversity of soils and terroirs produces wines that bear little resemblance to each other. The mild climate of the coast is very different from the harsher climate of the Haut-Pays. Provence, which has land suitable for producing quality wines, has to contend with the heat, which, although it allows for an earlier harvest, is unfavourable for the vinification of rosé, which requires cool temperatures to flourish.

Let's travel from west to east across our region:

In the far west, we discover the vast territory of the hillsides of Aix and Les Baux-de-Provence. This limestone Provence produces full-bodied and vigorous red and rosé wines. The reds are excellent.

Very close to Aix, a tiny 20-hectare vineyard produces Palette wines. On these 20 hectares, the appellation's only two estates cultivate some 25 different grape varieties to produce exceptional wines.

Who doesn't know Cassis? The final S is not pronounced. Carsit in the time of the Phocaeans. A magnificent little port framed by deep and admirable creeks, leaving only steep terraces. Those who have seen Paris but not Cassis have seen nothing, say the elders. Before the phylloxera crisis, 500 hectares were covered with vines. Today, only 200 produce between 550,000 and 700,000 bottles. Most of the vines produce renowned, lively white wines with a slight hint of iodine and the scent of Provence.

The hillsides of Pierrevert

The hillsides of Pierrevert were classified as AOC in 1998. The production area for wines entitled to the Coteaux de Pierrevert appellation d'origine contrôlée is limited to the territory of the following eleven communes in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department: Corbières, Gréoux-les-Bains, Manosque, Montfuron, Pierrevert, Quinson, Sainte-Tulle, Saint-Laurent-du-Verdon, Saint-Martin-de-Brômes, Villeneuve, and Volx. It covers an area of 400 hectares. To be entitled to the Coteaux de Pierrevert appellation d'origine contrôlée, wines must be made from grapes harvested in the production area delimited by plots or parts of plots as approved by the National Committee for Wines and Spirits of the National Institute of Designations of Origin in 1996, on the recommendation of a commission of experts appointed for this purpose. Ten per cent of production is vinified as white wine, 30% as rosé and 60% as red wine. White wines must be a blend of at least two grape varieties, none of which may exceed 70% of the blend. Rosé wines must be made from a blend of at least two grape varieties, including at least 50% Grenache Noir and at least 20% Syrah.

We are entering the Bandol terroir. Located north-west of Toulon, 700 hectares of limestone and siliceous soil, close to the sea, allow winegrowers to produce Saint-Julien de Provence.

From 1942 onwards, draconian rules forced Bandol winegrowers to use at least 50% Mourvèdre in their blends and to age their wines in oak barrels for at least 18 months. Successive presidents of the producers' unions became increasingly demanding, wanting to limit yields to less than 40 hectolitres per hectare and require vines to be at least eight years old. Their efforts paid off, as Bandol reds now stand up to comparison with the great wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

North of Cassis and Bandol, the Var hillsides stretch over 1,600 hectares across 24 communes and produce nearly 80,000 hectolitres. An AOC since 1993, they must be made from 80% Grenache-Syrah for reds and more than 70% Grenache-Cinsault for rosés made by saignée. Rolle dominates the whites. The presidents of the Producers' Association sensed the threat of uniformity of taste imposed by Cabernet Sauvignon and its ease of cultivation. Cabernet Sauvignon, despite its qualities, does not produce Mediterranean wines.

The Côtes-de-Provence stretch from Le Pradet to Hyères in the well-known regions of Le Lavandou, Cavalaire, Saint-Raphaël, Saint-Tropez, Cogolin, Lorgues and Draguignan. Visit the Maison des Côtes-de-Provence in Les Arcs after visiting the Thoronet Abbey. Average production over ten years is 750,000 hectolitres. Since 1933, Var winegrowers have fought to be recognised and earn the Côtes de Provence appellation. It was not until 1951 that they became VDQS and AOC in 1977. The Côtes de Provence terroir follows the geological boundaries of the Mediterranean coastline and the Maures mountains, which are composed of schist, gneiss and granite. To the north of the Maures, there is a depression made up of sandstone, sand and clay (Le Luc-Cuers axis). In the north-west, limestone dominates in Carcès and Lorgues. As with the Var hillsides, the producers' associations have limited the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is found everywhere, and Syrah, from the Rhône valley, in the blends. These are complementary grape varieties.

Certain grape varieties, although entirely regional, will be used in increasingly smaller proportions in blends or will even be banned, such as Carignan and Roussanne. Homogeneity will be achieved on the basis of Grenache, Cinsault, Tibouren and Mourvèdre. More than 70% of the harvest is made into rosé. The reds have earned their stripes. In the production of whites, Rolle and Sémillon are gradually replacing Ugni Blanc and Clairette. A special mention must be made of a vineyard in the Nice region, Clos-Saint-Vincent in Villars-sur-Var, which, although isolated, benefits from the Côtes-de-Provence appellation thanks to its stony, poor soil, high-quality vinification and yields of 30 hectolitres per hectare. The harsh mountain winters are ideal for ageing white wines. The reds are made from Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Since we are in the Nice region, we will climb the nearby hills overlooking Nice and the Var valley and enter the Bellet terroir.

Capital: Saint-Roman-de-Bellet. Neighbouring communes: Colomars, Levens. Forty-four hectares planted with Grenache, Cinsault and Bourboulenc for reds and rosés, the first crops of which were Braquet or Folle Blanche, Rolle initially, Roussane, Clairette, Vermentino and Chardonnay, produce typical fresh and rounded whites. All these grape varieties grow on sandy soils and pebbles carried by the Var river thousands of years ago. Because of their resemblance to a certain dessert, the locals call these lands, which produce wine, flowers and lemon trees, "poudingues" (puddings). Bellet wines have been classified as AOC since 1941, one week before Bandol.