Cotes du Ventoux
Côtes du Ventoux is a wine-growing region in the southern section of the Rhône wine-growing region . The appellation, which has had the status of an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC for short) since July 27, 1973 , is named after the 1912 meter high Mont Ventoux . The vineyards cover almost 7,700 hectares and are located in 51 municipalities on the orographic left bank of the Rhone , but a few kilometers inland. The area extends within the departments of Vaucluse between Vaison-la-Romaine in the north and Apt in the south. The average harvest is 305,000 hectoliters / year.
history
Excavations near Mazan show that viticulture has been around since 70 BC. Was operated in the region. But only with the interest of the large monasteries in the Middle Ages did the monks revive the quality efforts in viticulture. The Côtes du Ventoux region benefited in particular from the presence of the Popes in Avignon ( Avignon Papacy ) between 1309 and 1414 .
The French royal families did their part to make the diversity of the wine-growing regions known.
When the system of appellations was introduced in the 1930s, an interest group was set up in the Côtes du Ventoux region in 1939 to promote wine quality. The wine-growing area was declared a Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure ( VDQS ) on December 20, 1951 and finally an appellation on July 27, 1973.
Wine and grape varieties
The red wine , which makes up 85% of the wines brought in, is made from the main grape varieties Grenache Noir , Syrah , Cinsault and Mourvèdre and a maximum of 30% Carignan . In addition, the secondary varieties Piquepoul Noir , Counoise , Clairette Blanche , Bourboulenc , Grenache Blanc and Roussanne are permitted up to a maximum of 20% . The secondary varieties Piquepoul Blanc , Pascal Blanc and Ugni Blanc are allowed until 2014 . The red wines are usually garnet red, not too heavy, fruity and fragrant. Good wineries, however, bring very substantial wines onto the market.
The same mix of grape varieties applies to the rosé wine .
The white wine contains Clairette Blanche and Bourboulenc, as well as a maximum of 30% Grenache Blanc and Roussanne. The minor varieties Picquepoul Blanc, Pascal Blanc and Ugni Blanc are still permitted until 2014.
The yield limit is generally 50 hectoliters / hectare. The wines must have a minimum alcohol content of eleven percent by volume .
Since November 15, 1967, the Côtes du Ventoux can also be marketed as a primeur wine, i.e. as a very young wine.
The 51 approved municipalities
Apt , Aubignan , Beaumettes , Beaumont-du-Ventoux , Bédoin , Blauvac , Bonnieux , Cabrières-d'Avignon , Caromb , Carpentras , Caseneuve , Crestet , Crillon-le-Brave , Entrechaux , Flassan , Fontaine-de-Vaucluse , Gargas , Gignac , Gordes , Goult , Joucas , Lagnes , La Roque-sur-Pernes , Le Barroux , Le Beaucet , Lioux , Loriol-du-Comtat , Malaucène , Malemort-du-Comtat , Maubec , Mazan , Méthamis , Modène , Mormoiron , Murs , Pernes-les-Fontaines , Robion , Roussillon , Rustrel , Saignon , Saumane-de-Vaucluse , Saint-Didier , Saint-Hippolyte-le-Graveyron , Saint-Martin-de-Castillon , Saint-Pantaléon , Saint-Pierre-de -Vassols , Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt , Venasque , Viens , Villars and Villes-sur-Auzon .
literature
- Hubrecht Duijker : The best wines - Rhône and southern France. Albert Müller Verlag, Zurich / Stuttgart / Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-275-00891-9 .
- Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon. Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7742-0914-6 .
- Pierre Galet : Cépages et Vignobles de France. Lavoisier Publishing House, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7430-0585-8 . (French language)
- Benoît France: Grand Atlas des Vignobles de France. Éditions SOLAR publishing house, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-263-03242-8 . (French language)
- Jean-Pierre Saltarelli: Les Côtes du Ventoux, origines et originalités d'un terroir de la vallée du Rhône. Ed. A. Barthélemy, Avignon 2000, ISBN 2-87923-041-1 (French language)
