Palette is a small

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Amer ...

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

in the

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

region of southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, near Aix-en-Provence. The AOC was established in 1948. The grapes for this AOC are grown in Aix-en-Provence,

Meyreuil Meyreuil (; oc, Mairuelh) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France, about from Aix en Provence. Geography Located from Aix-en-Provence, the commune of Meyreuil is sheltered in the northeast by the mountain Mon ...

, and

Le Tholonet Le Tholonet (; ''Lou Toulounet'' and ''Lo Tolonet'' in Provençal) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Tholonétiens''. Geography The commune is near Aix-en-Provence, and at the fo ...

. The hamlet of Palette, which gives its name to the AOC, is located on the territory of the commune of Le Tholonet.Palette A.O.C.
vinsvignesvignerons.com

AOC rules

Grapes destined for red, white and rosé wines of Palette must be harvested to a yield no greater than 40 hl/ha and the finished wines must all attain a minimum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

of at least 11%. The blend for the reds and rosé must be composed of a minimum 80% Grenache, Mourvedre and/or

Cinsault Cinsaut or Cinsault ( ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and C ...

with the remaining 20% permitted to be a blend from Syrah,

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

Castet Castet is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also * Lac de Castet * Ossau Valley * Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrén ...

, Manosquin, Muscat noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 91 Firefly Books 2004 The whites of Palette are composed of at least 80% Clairette with

Bourboulenc Bourboulenc is a white wine grape variety primarily grown in southern France. The variety is found in the regions Southern Rhône, Provence and Languedoc. Bourboulenc is a late-ripening grape variety with tight bunches of large grapes, that can ...

, Trebbiano,

Grenache blanc Grenache blanc (also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol ...

and several white varieties

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

permitted to round out the remaining 20%.

References

{{reflist Provence wine AOCs