Region: Provence

Côtes de Provence AOP, under which three-quarters of Provençal wine is bottled, is dedicated to rosé production. While red and white wine are made, rosé accounts for over 75% of the appellation’s output. The rosés must be blended from at least two varieties; they are given color through a short period of skin contact, saignage, or, in the case of the palest of wines, immediate pressing of whole grapes. Blending of white and red wines is not an approved method for still rosé production here or elsewhere in France. Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and the local, garrigue-scented Tibouren represent the bulk of both red and rosé blends. While many rosés may be bottled in a traditional, hourglass-shaped "skittle" bottle, this is not necessarily a mark of quality. Rosés and red wines may be bottled under one of four subzone designations: La Londe, Pierrefeu, Sainte-Victoire, and Fréjus.