WineRegionsOld WorldFranceOther French Regions
Provence and Corsica
Provence is famous for its exotic-shaped bottles of rose wine; it is, however,the lesser-known reds of Provence that should excite the knowledgeable winedrinker. Modern technology now used in Corsica has turned its wines intofruity country wines that are a delight to drink. For most people, Provenceevokes beaches at St.-Tropez or the rich bouillabaisse laden aromas of back-streetMarseilles, but there are other experiences to be had in this sun-blessedcorner of southern France. For while the wines of Provence may not havethe classic status of Burgundy or Bordeaux, they have an abundance of spiceladen flavors that show more than a bit of class.
In Corsica, the advent of France's vin de pays system meant thatone-third of its vineyards were uprooted and put to better use. If the vinde pays system was intended to encourage the production of superior qualitywines from the bottom of the market upwards, then here at least it has beensuccessful, for this island is no longer the generous contributor to Europe's"wine-lake" it used to be.
PROVENCE'S ROSE WINES
Fancy flasks of Provence pinks used to dominate this wine region, but losttheir ground when consumers became sufficiently sophisticated to realizehow bad they were. Although few realized that there was any significancein the fansy shapes, they were in fact designed in the 1930s for a specificpurpose-to differentiate between negociant and single domaine wines. Thefat-bottom bottle tapering upwards to form a slim and slightly distortedtriangle was to be used only by negociants, while the curvier bottle couldonly he used by growers. It was, however, a concept that the consumer wasunaware of and because, unlike Bordeaux and Burgundy Provencal producersuse other types of bottle, a bizarre- range of shapes, sizes and gaudy colorsevolved.
Although sales of rose have dropped in recent years, they still represent60 per cent of all Provencal wines produced, and it is fair to say thatthe quality has soared. Without resorting to such drastic measures as actuallyacidifying the wines, modern vinification techniques cannot entirely removethe softness verging on flabbiness that is their sunny southern heritageand most growers who are true to their terroir would not wish to do so.All that can be done is to produce considerably more aromatic and fragrantwines that remain expressive of their Provencal origins.