Situated next to the shimmering slopes of the Maures Mountains, and the first peaks of the pré-Alpes, the vineyards benefit from a Mediterranean climate, well suited to the noble grape varieties, such as  Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cabernet, Rolle et Ugni blanc.

The Wine cooperative and its Côtes de Provence

Over a long period of time the cellars at Les Arcs sur Argens, “CELLIER DES ARCHERS”, have striven to establish a vibrant business based upon cooperation, putting its emphasis upon modernization in order to meet the quality and technical demands of a market which is ever in flux and customers who seek a pleasurable taste experience. With this in mind, from original planting to final bottling, everything is done in the best interests of harmonizing the end product with the demands of the modern era. The restructuring of the vineyards over this period has involved more than 100 hectares.

For the best part of ten years, a systematic check-list has been issued to all of our wine growers. A defined programme of harvesting which specifies the precise quality (table wine, vin de pays, AOC), the grape variety, minimum alcohol content, region, harvesting by machine or by hand, is handed out each year to the members of the wine cooperative.

In recent years the unloading platforms have been replaced by automatic weighing skips, whose readings are directly recorded in the wine cooperative’s computer system, in order to ensure a record of batch origin. A senior technician has been employed, on a full-time basis, as head cellarman, in order to ensure a permanent professional presence. Moreover, we have installed our own bottling lines, as well as a system of long-life storage vessels, within a totally renovated workspace. We have chilling facilities for both wine-making and storage and we have replaced our old concrete vats with ones made of stainless steel.

Vacuum-pressing the grapes results in bright, fragrant whites and rosés, which are highly rated: our noble Côtes de Provence are rich in thiols (with overtones of grapefruit and coconut). Their fruity, floral aromas explode in the glass. In order to achieve this effect requires a whole gamut of techniques. The chilled maceration which precedes the fermentation process is a modern technique which we utilise, as is the use of specially selected yeast strains in order to convert the sugar into alcohol.

Additionally it has proven very beneficial to the end- product to preclude the grape must and young wines from any contact with oxygen. The use of inert gas (nitrogen) both during and after pressing prevents oxidization of the fruit (our Enoxy press won first prize in the innovation awards in 2008). 

The wine cooperative CELLIER DES ARCHERS of the Var, Provence has seen the sales of its bottled Côtes de Provence constantly improve since the award of numerous prizes over the past 5 years. The most recent being a gold medal at the concours general agricole Paris and a silver medal at the Beaune féminalise, both for the 2010 Annonciade brand.