The Red Wines of the Beaumes de Venise Appellation 

The history of the Beaumes de Venise vineyard 

The history of the Beaumes de Venise vineyard goes back 2,500 years, when Greek merchants went up the Rhône and settled at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail to establish a trading post. They are the ones who established the culture of the vine in this region. It is then carried by the Pontifical Court of Avignon before being annihilated, in the XIXth century, but the phylloxera. It was not until 1945 that the quality of Beaumes de Venise wines was recognized by the granting of the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée "Muscat de Beaumes de Venise". It is only in 1957 that the dry red wines of the geographical area are integrated into the appellation "Côtes du Rhône". However, it was not until 2005 that the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée "Beaumes de Venise" was recognized.

 

Beaumes de Venise and its terroir

The vineyard of Beaumes de Venise covers today 580 hectares in the heart and on the southern slope of the Dentelles de Montmirail massif. There are four types of soil in the Beaumes de Venise terroir:

- Soils from hard limestone,

- Jurassic or Miocene marl soils,

- Soils from the Triassic, marly or clay-loam,

- Soils of molasses, sand and sandstone of the Miocene.

These soils benefit from optimal conditions for a good maturity of the grapes, combining sunshine, rain and mistral.

 

The control of the Appellation

The Beaumes de Venise AOC has a very strict control on the production of wine in the appellation area. For example, it is mandatory to have at least 60% of the main grape variety, Grenache noir, which brings notes of red fruits, spices and liquorice to the wine. This grape variety will be blended with complementary grape varieties such as Syrah, which will bring color and aromatic complexity, or Mourvèdre, conferring good potential of keeping and notes of black fruits, truffles or undergrowth, but also with accessory grape varieties such as Clairette, Cinsault, Carignan or Marsanne.

For the AOC Beaumes de Venise, the respect of nature is very important, that's why it is formally forbidden to treat or to weed chemically the plots of land, or that the grape harvests are obligatorily done in a manual way. Also, the wooded areas are not included in the delimitations of the parcels in order to protect the landscape and the environment, but also to preserve the natural balance and the biodiversity of the Rhone Valley.