b'

Provence, France is a multifaceted wine region. Although it makes mainly ros\\xe9, there is much to explore here. To start, not all of that ros\\xe9 is created equal. And there are whites and reds you may not be aware of, that are just stunning. This podcast is a surprising, dorky, deep look at this beautiful wine region.

Photo: Unsplash

Climate and terroir

• Between Mediterranean and the Alps \\u2013 southeastern corner of France, covers coastline
• No vineyard is more than 25 miles from the Mediterranean
• Provence is the only French wine region outside of Bordeaux\\xa0with classified estates
• Climate:\\xa0Low humidity, Mediterranean climate \\u2013 sea is its southern border: sunny, dry and warm.\\xa0Can get overripe grapes b/c of sunshine.\\xa0Winds prevalent \\u2013 including the Mistral
• Land:\\xa0Soil poor, very varied -- limestone, calcareous, volcanic
• Mountains: Sainte-Victoire Mountain, Sainte-Baume Mountains, Massif des Maures

Photo: "Le Jour ni l\'Heure 2792 : couvent b\\xe9n\\xe9dictin, puis dominicain, de la Sainte-Baume, grotte de sainte Madeleine, Plan-d\'Aups, Var, Provence, dimanche 8 mai 2011, 19:22:39" by Renaud Camus is licensed under CC BY 2.0

\\xa0

Blends, not varietal wines:

• Reds:\\xa0Grenache,\\xa0Cinsault,\\xa0Syrah,\\xa0Mourv\\xe8dre,\\xa0Tibouren,\\xa0Carignan,\\xa0Cabernet Sauvignon
• Whites:\\xa0Rolle/Vermentino,\\xa0Ugni Blanc/Trebbiano,\\xa0S\\xe9millon,\\xa0Clairette,Grenache Blanc,\\xa0Bourboulenc

\\xa0

Provence ros\\xe9 appellations

• C\\xf4tes de Provence
• Coteaux d\'Aix-en-Provence
• Coteaux Varois en Provence.

\\xa0Map: Vins de Provence

C\\xf4tes de Provence:\\xa090% Ros\\xe9, 6.5% red, 3.5% white

• Largest appellation in Provence
• Center to the eastern borders of Provence \\u2013 eastern portion of Provence in included
• Nearly 75% of all the wine production in Provence
• 90% of production is ros\\xe9
• Quality of sites varies wildly, as does the wine quality
• 4 subregions
  • C\\xf4tes de Provence Sainte-Victoire: Red and ros\\xe9 (largest, most common)
    
  • C\\xf4tes de Provence Fr\\xe9jus:\\xa075% ros\\xe9, the rest is red
  • C\\xf4tes de Provence La Londe:\\xa075% Ros\\xe9, 25% red
  • C\\xf4tes de Provence Pierrefeu:\\xa0Cool climate ros\\xe9\\xa0

\\xa0

Coteaux d\'Aix-en-Provence:\\xa082.5% Ros\\xe9, 5.5% White, 12% Red

• 2nd largest area with various soil types
• High acid, light ros\\xe9
• Les Baux de Provence:\\xa0(baou=rocky spur in Provence dialect) is within Aix
  • Tiny hilltop village, mainly organic viticulture \\u2013 85% of the farmers do organic or biodynamic
  • Makes red and roses (only 25% is rose) of GSM

\\xa0

Coteaux Varois en Provence: 85% Ros\\xe9, with red and white\\xa0

• Western 1/3 of Provence central region of Provence,\\xa0"calcareous Provence" \\u2013 gravel, flint, limestone, calcareous soils in\\xa0narrow valleys
• High altitude, small area\\xa0\\xa0

Photo: Pixabay

Bandol:\\xa0Nearly 70% is red wine with ros\\xe9, small amt of white\\xa0

• Bandol is most famous for its red wines, Mourv\\xe8dre is at least 50% of the blend, though most producers will use significantly more
• Whites: Clairette \\u2013 50-90% of Bandol Blanc with Bourboulenc, Ugni Blanc, Marsanne, Rolle, Sauv Blanc, Semillon\\xa0

Photo: Mourv\\xe8dre\\xa0Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0 \\xa0via Wikimedia Commons

Bellet: Equal amounts of white, red, ros\\xe9\\xa0

• Near\\xa0Nice in hills of N, E, W on terraces \\u2013 very steep, some single vineyard sites
• Mostly consumed by tourists in Nice

\\xa0

Palette: Red, white, ros\\xe9 made east of Aix-en-Provence in hills

• Chateau Simone owns half the vineyards here \\u2013 Ch Cremade, Ch Henri Bonnaud, Ch de Meyreuil and La Badiane make the rest

\\xa0

Coteaux de Pierrevert: Cool climate red, white and ros\\xe9 wines are mainly made from Grenache, Syrah, Cinsaut, Clairette and Rolle\\xa0

Cassis Wine: White is 75% of production, with red and ros\\xe9

• Full-bodied, lower acid, herbal whites.
• Clairette, Marsanne, Bourboulenc, Pascal, Sauvignon Blanc,
• Rose and red from Mourvedre, Cinsault, Grenache

\\xa0\\xa0

Photo: Pixabay

__________________________________________________________________

Thanks to\\xa0YOU!\\xa0The podcast supporters on Patreon, who are helping us to make\\xa0the podcast possible and who we give goodies in return for their help! Check it out today:\\xa0https://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

\\xa0

And to sign up for classes, please go to www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes!\\xa0

\\xa0

Podcasts referenced:

Ep 160: The Ros\\xe9 Story with Ian Renwick

Ep 227: Derek Van Dam, CNN Weatherman on Weather and Wine

Ep 277: Bordeaux -- An Insider View with Serge Dor\\xe9

\\xa0