Wines to the rhythm of the Luberon

All about the syndicate and the A.O.C. Luberon

The Syndicate: creation, role and evolution

The Syndicat des Vignerons de l'A.O.C Luberon is a professional union created at the same time as the appellation in 1988. Its role is to defend and promote the A.O.C Luberon appellation on the territory and beyond. 
 
"When it was created, the union included 15 cooperatives and a small number of private cellars. Over the years, there has been a lot of regrouping of structures; today we have 10 cooperatives and 63 private cellars. This figure is constantly evolving..."

The A.O.C Luberon: presentation and specifications

The Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée guarantees that the product has been transformed and elaborated on the French territory and respects a precise specification.

"To benefit from the Luberon appellation, a wine must respect a certain number of criteria, all of which are listed in the specifications:

Geographical criterion: the vine must be grown in one of the 36 communes of the appellation and on a delimited parcel.
Grape variety criteria: these grape varieties are compulsory - for red and rosé wines (Syrah, Grenache noir, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault and white grape varieties...), for white wines (Grenache blanc, Clairette blanche, Vermentino, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Ugni blanc, Viognier)
Analytical criterion: it is necessary to respect rules such as the degree of the wine or the sugar content...
Practical criterion: the specifications require compliance with practical rules. For example, since 2021 the Luberon A.O.C. has introduced compliance with agro-environmental practices.
A tasting committee checks the wines produced on the basis of the above criteria and declares them suitable for the A.O.C. label. These checks are then carried out once every five years to guarantee the quality of the appellation.

Presentation of the Luberon wines

Characteristics and uniqueness

Luberon wines are made in three colours: 59% rosé, 23% red and 18% white. This is a particularity compared to the Rhône Valley and its appellations which generally produce only one colour.

"Historically, the vineyards of the Rhone Valley produce mostly red wine. Since its creation, the A.O.C Luberon has produced all three colours and since 2007 has produced a majority of rosé. Rosé has been a trend for more than 10 years and has responded to consumer demand. Within the A.O.C, we had the grape varieties and the equipment to produce it, a trend which is now well established and which tends to continue.

Grape varieties adapted to the climate

The Luberon appellation is very large, covering more than 3,400 hectares and located entirely within the Luberon Regional Nature Park. There is a great diversity of grape varieties.

"A grape variety like Grenache can be found from Spain to the south of Italy, while Syrah comes from the north of the Rhone Valley but is very popular in the Luberon. There are significant thermal variations between day and night around the massif. It is quite atypical and this explains why we have a lot of Syrah compared to the rest of the Rhone Valley which has more Grenache.

Luberon wines in the mouth

"The red wines have very Rhône profiles but still with a lot of freshness and elegance in the mouth. The rosé wines have a more Provençal profile with more lightness. For the whites, two profiles coexist:
Light, very aromatic and not too complex "aperitif" type wines,
More "gastronomic" wines with more advanced blends of grape varieties.

Luberon wine news

Sales and exports

Our wines are found directly on the territory. What could be better than to go and meet the winemakers and producers on their estate or in their shop? The restaurant owners of the Luberon also propose a good representation of local wines in their wine list.

Luberon wines can be found all over the world, but the biggest fans of our wine region are the Belgians and the Germans!
"We export about 25% of our wines: 60% to Europe, 24% to North America, 12% to Asia and the rest of the production dispersed to the rest of the world.

All the news and information can be found on the networks
of the Syndicat des Vignerons de l'A.O.C Luberon
Website : www.vins-luberon.fr
Facebook : Vins du Luberon - @LuberonVins
Instagram : @vinsduluberon