la Suzienne

H i s t o r y

Legend would have it that one September evening in 1564, Charles IX and his mother Catherine de Medicis arrived in Suze, accompanied by their sumptuous court, having come to honour the baptism of François de la Beaume’s daughter, lord of Suze and governor of Provence.

During the celebrations, François de la Beaume served his honourable guests with a local wine which was so delicious that Catherine de Medici, enamoured by it, returned to Suze in July 1579 to buy the vines which produced this “divine beverage”.

In 1925, wary of the difficulties which were about to hit the wine growing industry (poor harvests and substantial investment needs for new equipment) a few wine growers including Louis BOYER and Léon BOUDON, mayor of Suze, decided to join forces in order to select the grapes and to produce high-quality wine together.

The first 80 wine-makers chose Louis BOYER as the president of the young cooperative. Thanks to careful management, it has developed to include 877 members today throughout the communes from South Drôme to North Vaucluse.

At the gateway to the Drôme Provençale, Provençale and with some 75 years of experience now behind it, La Suzienne has progressed and kept up with – perhaps even been a forerunner of – the technological improvements in the wine-making process. It supplies customers with the best of their appellation wines Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages and Coteaux du Tricastin. Thanks to solid teamwork which has never faltered over the last few years, La Suzienne is a leader in high-quality wine production.