Vinsobres

The Vinsobres Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) covers a production area of approximately 1,000 hectares, exclusively within the municipality of Vinsobres, stretching 7 km along the hillsides in the Drôme department. The Vinsobres terroir consists of stony marl on the hillsides, sandy marl on the hillsides, and stony Quaternary alluvial deposits on the terraces, and benefits from a Mediterranean climate, protected from the mistral and Alpine influences by the nearby mountains.

Historically, the Vinsobres vineyard was relatively small (484 hectares in 1956). After the frost of 1956, vineyards replaced olive groves and expanded considerably, reaching their current area of 1,000 hectares.  Vinsobres was classified as a Côtes-du-Rhône in 1937, then as Côtes-du-Rhône Vinsobres in 1957 (for all three wine types), and in 1966 it was among the first to be designated as a Côtes-du-Rhône Villages. Vinsobres obtained its local appellation in 2005 for red wine exclusively. The potential production area for this appellation thus remains limited to approximately 450 hectares. Vinsobres wines are blends in which Grenache and Syrah are the two primary grape varieties. Of particular note is the quality of the Vinsobres wines produced by Maison Perrin et Fils.