Luberon (known as ''Côtes du Luberon'' until 2009) is a

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Ame ...

-growing AOC in the southeastern extreme of the

Rhône wine region The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, where the wines are produced in 36 communes of the

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label=Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Ventoux AOC Ventoux AOC (known as ''Côtes du Ventoux AOC'' until 2008) is a wine-growing AOC in the southeastern region of the Rhône wine region of France, where the wines are produced in 51 communes of the Vaucluse ''département'' along the lower slopes ...

stretches along its northern border and is separated by the Calavon river. The southern limit of the region is marked by the Durance river.

Economy

The Luberon wines are produced by a total of 495 concerns which include 480 growers, 55 private wineries, 14 cooperative wineries, and one producer/merchant. The vineyards are in the communes of Ansouis,

Apt Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

, La Bastide-des-Jourdans, La Bastidonne, Beaumont-de-Pertuis, Bonnieux, Cabrières-d'Aigues, Cadenet, Castellet, Cheval-Blanc, Cucuron, Goult, Grambois,

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by ...

, Lauris, Lourmarin, Maubec,

Ménerbes Ménerbes (; oc, Menèrba) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. The walled village on a hilltop in the Luberon mountains, foothills of the French Alps, constitutes the main s ...

, Mérindol, Mirabeau,

La Motte-d'Aigues La Motte-d'Aigues (; oc, La Mota d'Aigas) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography La Motte-d'Aigues is situated in the southern part of the Parc naturel régional du Lub ...

, Puget, Puyvert, Robion, Saignon, Saint-Martin-de-Castillon,

Saint-Martin-de-la-Brasque Saint-Martin-de-la-Brasque (; oc, Sant Martin de la Brasca) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primari ...

, Sannes, Taillades, La Tour-d'Aigues, Vaugines,

Villelaure Villelaure (; oc, Vilalaura) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. History The village takes its name from the Roman-era settlement of ''Villa Laura'' which was at the same loca ...

, Vitrolles-en-Luberon.

Wines

Red wines are made from Grenache noir and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeus ...

(minimum 60%, of which Syrah minimum 10%),

Cinsault Cinsaut or Cinsault ( ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and ...

(maximum 20%), and

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...

(maximum 20%). Other accepted varieties are:

Counoise Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise is also grown in California, New Jersey, and Washington. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have ...

, Gamay noir,

Mourvèdre Mourvèdre (also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla and Yecla '' denominaciones de origen'' (DOs) of ...

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

. Rosé: The same varieties are used as for the red, and up to 20% of the allowed varieties for white wine may be used. White wines from

Ugni blanc Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

(maximum 50%),

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermita ...

Marsanne Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...

(combined maximum of 20%), Clairette blanche, Grenache blanc,

Vermentino Vermentino is a light-skinned wine grape variety, primarily found in Italian wine. It is widely planted in both Sardinia and Liguria, to some extent in Corsica, in Piedmont under the name Favorita, and in increasing amounts in Languedoc-Rouss ...

, and Bourboulenc. The minimum alcohol content for all three colors is 11%.

History

The wines received AOC status in 1988, under the name Côtes du Luberon. The name change to Luberon took place on 23 September 2009.Côtes du Luberon (A.O.C)
Vins Vignes Vignerons, accessed 2019-09-29.

References

External links

* of AOC Luberon wines
Luberon
on ''vins-rhone.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Luberon Aoc Rhône wine AOCs 1988 establishments in France