Vacqueyras

Smaller and more picturesque than Beaumes, with stone houses scattered along its gentle slopes, Vacqueyras gives its name to a robust, tannic red wine worthy of its more famous neighbors around Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Gigondas. Wine domaines beckon from the outskirts of town, and the center strikes a mellow balance of plane trees and cascading wisteria, punctuated by discreet tasting shops. Thanks to its consistently rising quality, Vacqueyras is one of the latest of the Côtes du Rhônes to earn its own appellation—the right to put its village name on the bottle instead of the less prestigious, more generic Côtes-du-Rhône label.