North of Avignon, a little further up from Gigondas and Vacqueyras, the Rasteau vineyard enjoys well-exposed, south-facing hillside slopes sheltered from the Mistral wind.

The Rasteau enjoys a variety of different soil types. Clay-limestone soil, bare sandy loam soils and red sandstone soils. As with the neighbouring land of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, many plots are covered in rounded quartz and limestone pebbles. These brown, limestone soils are well-suited to Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault for the reds. The white wines are made from Clairette, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Bourboulenc. The Plan de Dieu terrace allows more powerful wines designed to be aged for longer to be grown.


Finally, Rasteau also produces natural, gentle wines: a golden wine based on Grenache Noir vinified into a white and red from the same variety. The Rasteau vineyard, one of the biggest in the Vaucluse area, was known for these wines in the 18th century.
The communal appellation of Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau was recognised as an AOC in 1967. Wines were able to be labelled as AOC Rasteau from the 2009 vintage.