Trade unions - Professional organizations Provence

The Syndicat des Maîtres Melonniers de Cavaillon is a collective of nearly 50 producers and marketers of Cavaillon melons. It is responsible for managing the production, marketing and professional development of the melon. Producers grow the melon according to a know-how guaranteed by specifications established by the Syndicat, in its original production basin, which includes historic Provence and the Durance valley outside the coastal region. Shippers, for their part, select, prepare, pack and ship the melon according to specifications established by the Syndicat. The objectives of the Syndicat are to maintain and animate the production sector in the region, to preserve and develop the reputation of Cavaillon melon in Europe, to promote and defend its consumption, to improve production and marketing, and to guarantee the quality and origin of the melon through controls.

It is in 1996 that the union of the Corbières AOC has a prestigious tool to promote wines by settling in the castle of Boutenac in the heart of the vineyards between Narbonne and Carcassonne and a few kilometres from Lézignan-Corbières. Today is the showcase of a whole region. In addition to the wine growers of the Corbières AOC, it houses an antenna of the Agricultural Chamber of Aude and the National Institute of Appellations of Origin for Wines Approvals, as well as a cultural area with the headquarters of the Mediterranean FN.

The AOP Les Baux de Provence covers 242 hectares and includes 11 estates. Les Baux-de-Provence appellation offers nectars born from the combination of sun and rock, the limestone and stony soils will ensure a natural drainage and will allow the vine to seek water in depth. The result is warm wines. The winegrowers of Les Baux-de-Provence strive to keep this exceptional and homogeneous terroir in the most natural state possible. 100% of its surface is cultivated in organic, reasoned or Biodynamic agriculture.

Key figures Wines of Provence 2009/2010: Area: 26 890 ha, Production: 162 million bottles, 74,3% for côtes-de-Provence, 16% for slopes-d-aix-en-provence, 9,7% for slopes-var-en-provence. Volume: 1 217 800 hl, rosé: 88%, red: 9%, white: 3 %. The wine-growing sector comprises: 608 producers (546 special cellars and 62 cooperative cellars), 72 trading companies. It is a mosaic of land and flavours: The Provençal vineyard runs from west to east, about 200 km from the Alpilles mountains to the massif de l'Esterel. Located mainly in the departments of Var and Bouches-du-Rhône with an enclave in the Alpes-Maritimes, the appellations côtes-de-Provence, coteaux-en-provence, and hillsides-var-en-provence, produce wines of great aromatic diversity, with a very different accents but all possessing the solar character of the Mediterranean climate. A range of diverse varieties: in Provence, the variety of relief and climate corresponds to a wide range of varieties. More than a dozen regularly enter the wines of appellations of origin of Provence. Some of them are a base found in the majority of vineyards in the region, while others are more specific to certain designations. The inimitable rosé-de-provence: light, colours, scents, flavours are the reflection of the art of living in Provence, the land of choice of rosé… Rosé wine is a inimitable art that Californian winemakers cultivate with passion. A tender, clear and clear dress, a delicate, dry and fruity nose makes rosé a moment of intense conviviality: improvised meetings, discovery, alliance with Provençal recipes or world cuisines, rosé is in step with the emergence of new lifestyles.