Var

Département in south-eastern France on the Mediterranean coast with the capital Toulon in the political region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It is named after the river; however, the Var river basin has not been part of the département since 1859. It is framed by the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône (west), Vaucluse (northwest), Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (north) and Alpes-Maritimes (east). The Mediterranean coast with the western Côte d'Azur forms the south. Var is the largest French producer of cut flowers. Almost half of the agricultural area is devoted to viticulture. The wine-growing areas belong to the wine-growing region of Provence. The AOC areas are Bandol, Côtes de Prov ence (a small part of which is in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône) and in the latter as an enclave Coteaux Varois en Prov ence.

The country wine or IGP area encompassing the entire département is called Var, which can be supplemented by the narrower, geographical designations Argens, Coteaux du Verdon and Sainte Baume (these used to be independent VdP areas). Other independent IGP areas are Mont-Caume and Maures. Var is also part of the large regional IGP area Méditerranée with other départements.

At around 45%, rosé wines account for a large share of production. They come in different varieties from very light vins gris to cherry red wines. About 50% of the wine produced is red and only 5% white. The most important red wine varieties are Grenache Noir (Garnacha Tinta), Cinsaut, Mourvèdre (Monastrell), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan Noir (Mazuelo). The main white wine varieties are Grenache Blanc (Garnacha Blanca), Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Rolle (Vermentino), Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano Toscano) and Chardonnay.

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