Did you know? . . . About Cotes du Ventoux AOC

Learning about wine gets difficult when you begin to explore the various AOC regions in France.

AOC stands for "appellation d'origine contrôlée" and signifies a designated quality area. It is important to learn your AOC's because French wines are almost always labeled by AOC, not by grape varietal. This is where wine gets particularly confusing. Our wine bottle from James read only "Cotes du Ventoux" and the winery name. From that, we were to know that, by regulation, grapes grown here for red wine must be Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, and Carignan and that red wine from this AOC is almost always a blend. While this area does grow grapes for white wine, red wine is the vast majority of production out of this AOC.

Cotes du Ventoux is in the southeastern edge of the southern Rhone Valley. The Rhone Valley is split into two regions - Northern and Southern. Reds from this southern area are mostly blends.

The Rhone Valley - Cotes du Ventoux in the southeast