Côte Vermeille

France · PGI · Roussillon · 4 INAO commune(s)

Styles

Natural factors

The vineyard is situated across the four communes of Banyuls-sur-Mer, Collioure, Cerbère and Port-Vendres, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, on a highly rugged site between sea and mountain.
The parent rock consists essentially of beds of brown Cambrian schists, vertically structured and heavily fractured, giving rise to poor soils with low water-retention capacity.
The vines are cultivated on terraces up to 400 metres in altitude, with a minimal proportion on valley floors over stony, free-draining alluvial ribbons drained by watercourses such as the Baillaury, the Cosprons, the Douy and the Ravaner.
The vineyard benefits from 2,600 hours of sunshine per year under a Mediterranean climate that is mild in winter, hot and dry in summer, on the immediate maritime fringe.
Average rainfall of 650 mm follows a violent and irregular pattern, alternating summer drought with intense rainfall events in spring and autumn that cause soil leaching and erosion, justifying cultivation on terraces.
Wind blows on nearly 200 days a year, with two main components: the Tramontane coming from the north-west and the sea breeze coming from the south-east.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

About this boundary · approximate area

Approximate area — the union of the 4 commune(s) of the delimited area (INAO); no parcel delimitation exists for this denomination.