Where it is
Provence stretches from the Rhône delta east to Nice and north into the hills of the Var and Alpes-Maritimes. Its main appellations are Côtes de Provence, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence and Coteaux Varois en Provence, with smaller ones such as Bandol, Cassis and Bellet.
Land and climate
Mediterranean, with long hot summers, mild winters and the mistral. The terrain mixes limestone hills, crystalline massifs such as the Maures and the coastal plain.
Grapes and wines
More than four out of five bottles are rosé, usually pale and dry, blended from Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Rolle (Vermentino) is the main white. Bandol is different: powerful, long-lived reds based on Mourvèdre, with rosé alongside.