Domaine de Trevallon

René Dürrbach, painter, sculptor and friend to Picasso, purchased Domaine de Trévallon in 1955 so that he would be able to retire in a more peaceful area. He always believed that the encompassing scrubland would be capable of producing fine wines.

In 1973 Eloi Dürrbach moved from Paris after studying architecture, to create a winery on his parents' property. He had to dynamite part of the hills surrounding the domaine to create the vineyard in the heart of this extraordinary landscape, halfway between Garrigue and Limestone.

The vineyard of 20 hectares is made up of a large number of small plots, all located within a 2 km radius of the winery. The vines are cultivated naturally, in accordance with time-honoured tradition, without the use of insecticides, chemical fertilizers or herbicides.

Whereas Châteauneuf du Pape glories in heady Grenache and brooding Mourvèdre, Trevallon is an equal partnership of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Cabernet has found a natural homestead in the relative altitude of the slopes of the Alpilles, its generous black fruit core held in counterpoint by the purity and focus of the Syrah.

The assemblage aroused suspicion in the authorities and in 1993 the wine was effectively down-graded from an Appellation Contrôleé Coteaux de Baux en Provence to the seemingly humble Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône.  Eloi was unmoved; he knew that the blend was the right one and that Trevallon would quickly take its place at the High Table of great Vin de Pays of the world, where, despite impressive competition, it has held court with great eloquence ever since.  

Vin de Pays

Althought not as stringent as those for AOC, Vin de Pays wines must fulfill certain criteria: they must exclusively derive from their named area, meet precise standards under analysis, come from ‘recommended’ grape varities (as per each département) and must receive a tasting accreditation.

The designation of Vin de Pays is divided into three tiers:

Vin de Pays Régionaux (regional)

These denominations include:

• Vin de Pays d’Oc (from Languedoc-Roussillon, accounting for 70% of all French Vin de Pays) 
• Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France (from the Loire Valley)
• Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan (from the south-west of France)
• Vins de Pays Portes de Méditerranée (from the south-east, Provence and Corsica)
• Vin de Pays des Comtés Rhodaniens (from the Rhone valley) and Vin de Pays de l’Atlantique (from Bordeaux and Charentes)
• Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne (in Armagnac country, producing refreshing, dry white wines
• and its Cognac counterpart Vin de Pays Charentais

Vin de Pays Départementaux (departmental)

Names of these wines derive from the French départements (administrative divisions similar to English counties) in which the wine is made. There are about 50, for example, 

• Vin de Pays Loire-Atlantique is made in the Loire-Atlantique département, which is part of the regional designation Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France.
• Vin de Pays de l'Aude (in Aude) 
• Vin de Pays de l'Hérault ( in L'Hérault) in Languedoc 
• Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes  

Vin de Pays de Zone (local)

These are the smallest subdivions of Vin de Pays and are, for the most part, to be found in the Languedoc region. Local names are often drawn from a geographical feature (sometimes no longer recognisable) or historical event. Examples of local names are Vin de Pays des Marche de Bretagne, Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Quercy, Vin de Pays de Cathare and Vin de Pays de la Vallée du Paradis.

The most important of the Vins de Pays is Vin de Pays d’Oc, which is France’s prime source of varietal wine. Roughly 85% of Vins de Pays originate in Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence or the southern Rhône, with a further 6% coming from the Loire. The vast majority of Vin de Pays is red. In terms of price, Vin de Pays is typically young, simple wine from high-yielding vines, and it is usually sold for less than an AOC equivalent.

Wine-growers may choose to bottle their wines as Vin du Pays to take advantage of the flexibility afforded by this designation (for example, certain -usually international- grape varieties and wine making techniques may be prohibited by their local AOC regulations, but they are permitted by their local Vin de Pays).

Thanks to the efforts of some particularly ambitious wine-makers, there are now numerous Vins de Pays that are internationally acclaimed. Some top class estates, such as René Rostaing in Côte Rôtie and Domaine de Coudoulet produce excellent wines in the Vin de Pays designation, as well as bottling using their AOC. 

Notably, the acclaimed Mas de Daumas Gassac produces all its wines exclusively as Vin de Pays (VdP de l'Herault)

Other Varieties

There are over 200 different grape varieties used in modern wine making (from a total of over 1000). Most lesser known blends and varieties are traditional to specific parts of the world.