Foundation stones laid and €8.4 million invested in new Provence rosé wine centre

inally, after five years full of twists and turns that hampered its launch, institutional and industry representatives joined together in Vidauban on December 19 to lay the foundation stone “of a collective site bringing trade bodies and technical skills under one roof”. The new Provence rosé wine centre will be home to the Côtes de Provence producers’ organisation, the Provence wine marketing board CIVP, the chamber of agriculture, the Rosé Wine Centre, the French Vine Institute and the Var winegrowers’ organisation, in a bid to bring together all the driving forces and industry bodies in Var and Provence. The overriding ambition of the Vitipôle Provence Rosé & Chamber of Agriculture is to “produce the finest rosés in the world and successfully rise to the challenge of ecological transition”, explains a press statement.

The cost of the combined centre is estimated at €8.4 million excluding tax, divided between €5.5 million for the Vitipôle Provence Rosé and €2.9 million for the Var Chamber of Agriculture department. Overheads and operations will be shared across three buildings totalling 2,200 m2 on a 2.32 hectare site. Following the laying of the official foundation stone, building work is due to commence at the beginning of February 2026, with the building expected to be completed by the end of July 2027. Covering 950m2, the Vitipôle Provence Rosé will have the largest footprint and house an experimental winery, a laboratory, tasting room and offices for the industry’s technical bodies. It will sit alongside the 570m2 of the Var Chamber of Agriculture’s facilities – housing divisions for viticulture, tree growing, agricultural diversification, new farmers, inheritance and legal issues – and the 630m2 dedicated to the late Fabienne Joly. These facilities will “combine a large, modular meeting and knowledge transfer room and collective working areas that can welcome partners and innovative companies”, adds the press statement.