The colours of Catalonia

Appellation Rivesaltes Contrôlée, Vabé has a leading place in the family of natural fortified wines. Straight or with ice, possibly accompanied by a slice of lemon or orange, this aperitif invented in 1948 livens up any time of day with its beautiful tile-red colour and its colourful accents.

Vabé is a "Vin Doux Naturel" (fortified wine). More information on VDN fortified wines: VDNs contain 100% wine products: they are made from grape must, partly fermented or not, with the addition of wine alcohol. No flavouring may be added, and the only practices that can be used are the same as those allowed for wine. They are aged for at least two years. The name VDN is reserved for liqueur wines produced using traditional,, established methods. These are AOC liqueur wines (VDL), mainly from four French départements: Pyrenees Orientales, Aude, Hérault and Vaucluse. Four grape varieties are authorized: muscat, grenache, maccabeo and malvoisie. Other grape varieties are also allowed, within the limit of 10% of the total number of plants of the four designated grape varieties. The must yield for all VDNs is limited every year by decree, but it must not exceed 40 HL per hectare. The initial natural alcohol content of this must is 14% ( = 252 g/L of sugar). The addition of wine alcohol must represent between 6% and 10% of the final volume of the wine to be produced.