Cotes du Ventoux is a large wine appellation of south-eastern France.
25 miles (40km) north-east of Avignon, in the far south-east of France, Mont Ventoux looks down over the wine-producing areas of the Rhone Valley to the west and Provence to the south and east. The mountain (often referred to as 'The Giant of Provence') stands alone from the Alps mountain range, of which it is technically a part, and towers over the landscape for miles around. On the western slopes and foothills of this iconic mountain, in an area roughly 30 miles (50km) from north to south, covering 51 parishes, are the vineyards of the Cotes du Ventoux appellation.
Wines have been made in this area since the first century AD, and have been consumed (and written about) by various popes and kings throughout the centuries. The official AOC Cotes du Ventoux appellation was created just before the harvest of 1973, for the red, white and rose wines of the area.
The wines made under the Cotes du Ventoux appellation are very similar to those of the Cotes du Rhone appellation, and employ much the same combination of grape varieties. The classic southern Rhone red varieties of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre make up the majority of these wines, with Cinsaut and Carignan also used to a certain extent. The area does produce a quantity of white wines (from Clairette, Bourboulenc and Grenache Blanc with occasional use of Roussanne) but these are far outweighed by the production of red and rose.
The style of these wines varies according to their encepagement (the French term for a specific combination of grape varieties) and the terroir from which they originate. The style is overall one of lighter, fruit-driven wines, betraying the increased altitude and slightly cooler mesoclimates which the Ventoux slopes provide. The intense southern French sunshine which covers the south and west-facing slopes of Ventoux helps the wines to achieve a good level of phenolic ripeness, while the cooler temperatures moderate this effect, and grant the grapes extended hang-time. Grapes grow so well here that the Muscat grown for table grapes has its own AOC Muscat du Ventoux appellation.
As with appellations and regions all over France, there has been a recent increase in investment and experimentation in the area, resulting in wines of higher quality from several Cotes du Ventoux producers.
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