French wine regions
Provence: a visitor's guide to the vineyards
Rosé at the source, sea-cliff vineyards and Cézanne light.
Provence is where wine tourism feels most like holiday: tastings between lavender fields and olive groves, seaside appellations like Cassis and Bandol, and rosé drunk fifty metres from the vines that made it. Beneath the pale pink cliché hide serious wines, especially Bandol's age-worthy Mourvèdre reds.
Best time to visit: May-June (lavender starts late June) and September. July-August is beautiful but hot and busy: book tastings for 10h, beach for 15h.
Where to stay: Aix-en-Provence for the Sainte-Victoire vineyards and city pleasures; Cassis for the seaside; Lourmarin or Ménerbes for the Luberon.
The areas worth your days
Bandol. Terraced Mourvèdre above the Mediterranean: the region's greatest reds and most structured rosés. Domaine visits come with sea views.
Cassis. A white-wine village wedged between calanques and cliffs: taste, then hike or boat the Calanques National Park.
Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire. Cézanne's mountain over the vines: picture-perfect estates 20 minutes from Aix.
Luberon & Ventoux. Hilltop-village Provence (Gordes, Bonnieux) with fresh, value wines and cycling roads made famous by the Tour.
Book your visit
Cellar tours, tastings and vineyard experiences in Provencecan be booked through our partners. Partner links coming soon: for now, book directly with the estates listed by the local tourism office.
Practical tips
- Serious estates here welcome visitors seriously: Bandol tastings are among the best-run in France, and free more often than not.
- Rosé does not improve with age: buy what you will drink this year, invest in Bandol red for the cellar.
- Pair Cassis white with sea urchins in the port: the single best wine-food-place match in southern France.
Continue exploring
Bordeaux wine region guide · Burgundy wine region guide · Champagne wine region guide · Sleeping among the vines