Your Guide to Provence Wine Region (With Map)

The Provence wine region is gaining popularity, including its flagship subregions like Bandol and Cassis. It’s hands down, one of France’s most underrated areas.

Ah, Provence! The name conjures up visions of lavender, sunflowers, olive trees, and wine. Not just rosé but also white and red.

This fascinating region sits along France’s Mediterranean coast, bordered by the Rhône River to the west and the Côte d’Azur to the east. Physically, it’s only about 150 miles (241 km) long and 100 miles (161 km) north to south, but its impact is profound.

Wine has been made here for over 2,600 years, making Provence the oldest wine-producing region of France. It is also the only place to focus on rosé and is home to the only research institute dedicated to the style.

Getting a Lay of the Land: Provence Wine Region

Provence is home to a fantastic climate, especially for grapes! The region gets lots of sunshine and not too much rain, with warm days and cool evenings. The Mediterranean moderates the temperatures, and the famous “Mistral” wind keeps the vineyards dry, free of pests, and the skies clear.

The geography is diverse, with numerous mountain ranges that texture the landscape, providing gentle slopes (vines love hills!) and sheltered valleys. The soils are also diverse. The western countryside is veined with limestone, where the land was covered in ancient times by a warm, shallow sea. Travel east, and the soil is mostly crystalline schist (granite) and volcanic in one small area.

Throughout Provence, wild, resinous shrubs like rosemary, juniper, thyme, and lavender grow almost everywhere. Many say these plants, collectively called “Garrigue” (on limestone/clay) or ‘Maquis” (when growing on crystalline schist), influence the character of the wines.

With all these different soils, climates, altitudes, and historical influences, it only makes sense that the Provence wine region is home to many varieties of grapes. Some will be familiar, and some not so much, as they only grow here.

The Wine Regions of Provence

Viticultural Provence is comprised of nine main regions or AOC (Appellation de’Origin Contrôlée).
 

What is an AOC? It’s a specific area for growing grapes defined by many factors that establish its unique character, such as type of soil, climate, and geography. Being within an AOC has rules too. A grower is restricted as to what kinds of grapes they can grow, how they are grown, and how many tons can be harvested. Wines must be made to specific blending percentages with regulated levels of alcohol and residual sugar. They also must follow strict labeling protocol.

Côtes de Provence

The largest AOC, and the biggest producer with about 75% of wine production (of which 89% is Rosé), this region is also the most diverse.

Because of the region’s size, various influences are at work: differences in climate, vineyard altitude, soils, and rainfall, for example, can be so varied that there’s actually a difference of 60 days between the start of harvest in the southern coastal vineyards and their cooler, inland counterparts.

There are four geographical subregions in Côtes de Provence, and they’re easy to identify as they are allowed to add their names to the label. Sainte-Victoire, La Londe, Fréjus, and Pierrefeu. Each subregion has distinct characteristics that affect the grapes and wines it produces.

Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence

Second in size, this region experiences heavy influence from the famous Mistral winds. The vineyards here date back as far as 600 BC and were prized by the Royal Courts of Europe in the 15th century.

Rosé is king and is usually a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Syrah, and Counoise. Cabernet Sauvignon grows here too. The first plantings of this Bordeaux grape were brought to the Provençal vineyards of Georges Brunet (owner of Chateau La Lagune) just after World War II.

Coteaux Varois de Provence

AKA “The Heart of Provence,” this region features undulating limestone mountain ranges and a multitude of ‘meso-climates.’

Vineyards at these slightly higher altitudes are cooler, so the grapes benefit from longer, slower ripening, giving the finished wines good acidity, complex flavors, and structure. Again, rosés rule here and are from Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Syrah grapes, with whites dominated by Rolle.

Les Baux-de-Provence

This is probably the toastiest part of Provence; so hot it’s home to the Val d’Enfer or “Valley of Hell.” Located north of the ancient city of Arles, the area is named after the fortified 13th century town of Baux. Vineyards lie on the hillsides of the Alpilles mountains, and although the climate and rugged terrain are inhospitable, it’s perfect for grapes.

The region is also perfect for biodynamic and organic viticulture. The Mistral wind keeps everything dry, so rot is not a problem, and the average 3,000 hours of sun doesn’t hurt either! In fact, 41% of the growers have gone ‘green.’
Les Baux also sets itself apart by producing predominantly red wines, with Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Cabernet Sauvignon taking center stage.

Cassis

Along the Mediterranean coast of Provence, just east of Marseille, the steep, white limestone cliffs of the Massif des Calanques meet the sea. This is where you find the very first AOC of Provence (1936): Cassis.

The vineyards were destroyed by the Phylloxera epidemic in the 18th century, but they were replanted, and now Cassis is the region of Provence known for white wines.

Marsanne is the main grape, along with Clairette, so the wines have wonderful elegance and intense aromas of citrus, peach, honey, and dried herbs. Many say you can even taste the salt of the nearby sea.

Bandol

If Cassis is all about whites, then its neighbor to the east is the perfect opposite. Bandol, named after the ancient Phocaean port, also suffered at the hands of phylloxera. Although, when replanting took place, the vignerons knew that the arid, infertile, well-draining sandy marl and limestone soils were perfect for heat-loving, late-ripening Mourvèdre.

The hillside vineyards form a natural amphitheater where walls made of river stone called “restanques” support the terraces. Bandol produces amazing whites from Clairette blended with Ugni Blanc or Bourbouenc and structured, flavorful rosé. Its signature wines, however, are the rich, intense red wines made with up to 95% Mourvèdre that age in oak for at least 18 months.

Palette

Nestled below Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and at only 100 acres, Palette is the smallest AOC of Provence. The Romans planted the vineyards on the limestone and clay soils around 100 BC, and the area is now home to over 25 grape varietals (some obscure). Winemakers must hand-harvest and are subject to specific blending rules and aging requirements.
 
Mourvèdre is the main grape in both rosé and red wines, along with Cinsault, Grenache, and a host of unusual grapes like Castets, Muscat de Hamburg, Petit Brun, and Téoulier. The wines must age in oak for 18 months, and many find them similar to Bandol’s.

Whites represent about 37% of the area’s production and are often a blend of Clairette Blanche, Picardan, Bourboulenc and unusual grapes like Panse Muscade, Terret Gris, Piquepoul Blanc, and Aragnan. Both white and rosé wines must age for at least eight months before release.

It may be small in size, but Palette is big on preserving the traditions of Provence wine.

Bellet

The vineyards of Bellet dot the steep hillsides surrounding the city of Nice on the far eastern edge of Provence. This is another area that uses some uncommon grape varietals. The dominant white varietal is Rolle (Vermentino), and Bellet is the only AOC in Provence permissible to use Chardonnay. Red and rosé are mostly made with Braquet and Folle Noire. Rosé from Bellet has a distinctive aroma of rose petals.

Pierrevert

Pierrevert is the newest (1998) and most northerly of the Provence AOCs in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, next to the Luberon. The grape varieties and style have a definite Rhône influence.

You’ll find red blends of Grenache and Syrah with perhaps some Cinsault and Carignan and whites such as Grenache Blanc, Rolle (Vermentino), Roussanne, and Marsanne. Rosé is a big deal here, made from the same grapes as the reds but it differs from the other parts of Provence.

The area’s rules dictate that at least 50% of the wine must be made using the “saignée” method, which is the only place winemakers can use this technique.

The Provence wine region will surely steal your heart if you try its wines. Whether seeking out white, rosé, or red — it has it all!