| WINES
OF THE COTE D'AZUR
Let's dispel one rumour forever. Rosé is not
a recent product of the vintner's art. Neither is it
a mixture of red and white grapes. Rosé in fact
is one of the earliest wines ever made and even today
is probably one of the most difficult.
A Vintner will tell you that the colour is dictated
by the length of time that the grapejuice and the grape
skin are in contact with each other. And that's the
rub! The art of making an acceptable rosé lies
in knowing how long this marriage between juice and
skin should be maintained. The procedure is complicated
by the fact that each variety of grape has different
characteristics, and so the time required for the union
between grape and juice varies.
Rosé wine is especially treasured if it is grown
on the Côte d'Azur because the ambient temperature
as well as the special kind of soil is ideal for its
production.
|
COTE
DE PROVENCE WINES
Only
vineyards chosen by a government commission have the
right to use the name Côte de Provence, although,
strangely, not all wines bearing this official name
are grown in Provence alone. Some of these wines are
light and fruity, others are rich in aroma, still others
are robust, but they all have one thing in common: they
are grown in a special kind of soil which must be in
humus, permeable and stony.
Such soil abounds in the general area of the
Côte d'Azur , which a benevolent Diety could
well have prepared especially for this purpose, because
it is not only the soil that is important but also the
ambient temperature which is ideally found here. The
winters are mild - scarcely any frost, rainfall alternating
with hot sun in Spring to bring out the buds and flowers,
and long hot summers with little wind to allow the grapes
to mature.
The French government imposes very strict rules about
the cultivation of quality wines, and the best of them
carry the seal of approval - AOC (Appellation d'Origin
Contrôlèe). |
