Vacqueyras French wine appellation guide: location, history, wines, climate & soil
Vacqueyras is a southern Rhône cru producing rich, spicy, Grenache-based red wines with real depth, often seen as a great-value alternative to its neighbour Gigondas and to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
More info about Vacqueyras
Geographic position
Southeastern France, in the Vaucluse department, at the foot of the jagged Dentelles de Montmirail, about 35 km northeast of Avignon, covering the villages of Vacqueyras and Sarrians, just south of Gigondas.
Origin & history
Vines have been cultivated here since Roman times, and the village was a stop for pilgrims and troubadours in the Middle Ages. Long sold as Côtes du Rhône and then Côtes du Rhône Villages, Vacqueyras became its own cru AOC in 1990, the third southern Rhône village to be promoted.
Wines & grape varieties
Mostly red, from Grenache (at least 50%) with Syrah and Mourvèdre; also a little rosé and white. Expect black cherry, blackberry, garrigue, pepper, liquorice and leather, with firm, ripe tannins.
Climate & soil
Hot Mediterranean climate with the Mistral. Stony alluvial terraces of rounded pebbles, sand and red clay, with limestone and marl near the Dentelles.
Wine region: Rhône
Grape varieties: Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah