Prime movers in the development of Provencal wines

The Cercle des Vignerons de Provence can now look back on more than thirty years of involvement with Provencal wines. Back in 1973, 1800 wine-growers from private and cooperative cellars jointed together to form the Union de Coopératives COVIVAR, later to become UVIVAR - Le Cellier de Saint-Louis.

In the early 1980s, the results were highly encouraging. At the blending and bottling plant at Brignoles in the Var, some 30,000,000 litres were already being sold in bulk.

In parallel with these sales, bottling and Bag-in-Box packaging was also developing and being encouraged. Over the succeeding years, new private and cooperative cellars in the Var and in the neighbouring Bouches-du-Rhône joined the group and contributed to sales under the Cellier de Saint-Louis trade name. In 2004, the other major group in the Var, the Vignerons des Caves de Provence, finally decided to joint forces with the Cellier de Saint-Louis.

Thus the Cercle des Vignerons de Provence was created. With over 25,000,000 litres in sales and 20 million bottles per annum, representing practically 10% of the overall wine production in Provence, the Cercle now ranks as the main specialist within this production area.