Classifications


Cru Classé

is a top-level quality classificaton used for the best Côte de Provence, appellation controlée (AOC) wines.

AOC - Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

The top of the line, AOC applies to French wines from precisely specified regions, and with the most rigid controls, specified by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO). The items controlled include the: variety of grapes, density and size of vines, maximum yield, minimum alcohol level, method of culture and vinification. AOC wines will be the most exclusive and, of course, the most expensive wines.

VDQS - Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure

The second-highest classification, "superior quality wine", has strict controls on production and variety of grapes used. The label has a VDQS icon in the lower-left corner, and specifies the type of grape it's made from.

Vin de Pays

A vin de pays is a higher-class table wine, from a particular region of France and with a specific vintage.
The vin de pays is controlled primarily for the source of the grapes and also for the density of vines: the amount that can be produced per hectare. The region of a vin de pays can be very large or quite small.
A Vin de Pays is one grade higher, in control of origin, than the vin de table. Although usually less expensive, the actual quality can be an equal to VDQS and even AOC wines.

Another Vins de Pays, this 1992 Vin Primeur is intended for immediate consumption; the equivalent of the more widely know Beaujolais Nouveau.
This label is from the Cave Vinicole de Venelles, a village about 8 km north of Aix-en-Provence. The control of this vin de pays is for the vintage, 1992, and the origin, Bouches-du-Rhône

Vin de Table

This is your basic French "table wine", available in small food shops, giant hypermarché supermarkets, and served by the pitcher at cafés and restaurants familiales (family restaurants). Vin de table is sold in 1-litre bottles, either plastic or the classic "6-star" glass bottles. The quality can vary from "sharp" to very good indeed, and the price is often not an indication of the quality. Table wines are blended from several different sources, and more and more now include wines from other parts of the European Union. The vin de table label shows the alcoholic degree of the wine. The higher-percentage table wines are often smoother.

Categories

Individual vineyards often assign categories to their own wines, indicating levels of quality. Since the different wines of a vineyard are assigned their categories by experts, for aiding everyone from us novices to experienced vinophiles, it's a good indication of relative quality. The final taste that suits you, however, could easily transcend categorization; so do your own tasting, and select what pleases you best.
for example, are typical :
Cuvée PRESTIGE
Cuvée TRADITION
Cuvée CLASSIQUE

Provence Wines

Côtes de Provence

The principle appellation of the region, Côtes de Provence stretches from beside Marseilles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône and across central and southern Var to the Alpes-Maritimes. Stretching from Toulon across to Fréjus is a red clay soil. In the center, the vineyards grow on the limestone soil around the Maures, and further north, the hills and high plains towards the Alps have a chalky soil.

Bandol

is on the Mediterranean coast west of Toulon , and the vineyards stretch along the sunny southern hillsides, on rocky limestone soil. The rosé, produced mainly for the strong local demand. It is aged a minimum of 8 months in wood (unique for a rosé), giving the wine an orange coloring. The red Bandol is made from Mourvèdre grape and is aged a minimum of 18 months in oaken foudres, producing a full, round, rich wine that is good for immediate consumption and ages well.

The Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence

received the aoc rating quite recently, in 1985, but have built a good reputation through the planting of better varieties of grapes and careful attention to the wines vinification and ageing. At the base of the Alpilles mountains, between Arles and Cavaillon, the chalky-white limestone soil is rich in bauxite. The vineyards tend to be organic, using no artificial or inorganic fertilizers.

Cassis

On the rocky calanque coast of the Mediterranean east of Marseilles, Cassis is renowned in the South of France for its white wine. A slightly nutty flavor and a golden straw color, it goes well with the regional seafood. The blanc de blanc is especially good. Cassis red and small amounts of rosé are also made.

Coteaux Varois

The Coteaux Varois wines are produced in the center of the department of the Var, around the town of Brignoles. This is a very new aoc, receiving their classification on 26 March, 1993.