The wine growing region is located in the south-eastern corner of France and extends along the Côte d'Azur from Marseille in the west to Nizza in the east. It is bordered by the two large wine growing regions Languedoc in the west and Rhône in the north. In many sources, the island of Corsica, 160 kilometres southeast of the coast, is considered to be a common wine-growing area with Provence. In fact, there are also many similarities. Together with the Languedoc-Roussillon area, Provence is often referred to as Midi.
Provence is one of the oldest wine-growing regions in France and also in Europe, as the Greeks planted vines and pressed wine here as early as the 6th century BC. Possibly, however, the Celts (Gauls) did this even before them. The name comes from the Romans, who founded the "Provincia Romana" in 154 B.C. and delivered wine to Rome from here. Legionnaires who were deservedly discharged from service received a small estate here as a reward, which they used for wine growing. Throughout history, the area was always hotly contested and belonged successively to the Roman Empire, Frankish Empire, Kingdom of Burgundy, Spanish County of Barcelona-Arágon, House of Anjou, Kingdom of Sardinia and finally France.
The Mediterranean climate is characterized by mild winters, humid springs, hot summers and long sunny autumns. In the 19th century large areas were destroyed by phylloxera. Today, the vineyards cover about 25,000 hectares. The appellation Côtes de Provence, located in the east, is by far the largest area with about four fifths of the surface. As is customary in the south of France, numerous varieties are permitted, including many autochthonous vines, some of which are threatened with extinction. The most important red wine varieties are Barbaroux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Calitor Noir, Carignan Noir, Cinsaut, Grenache Noir(Garnacha Tinta), Mourvèdre(Monastrell), Rolle(Vermentino), Syrah and Tibouren. The most important white wine varieties are Clairette, Grenache Blanc(Garnacha Blanca), Sémillon and Ugni Blanc(Trebbiano Toscano). About half of the production consists of rosé wines, about 40% of red wines and 10% of white wines. The wine growing areas:
Map: From DalGobboM¿!i? - Own work, GFDL, Link
edited by Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer 2/2018