The Meknes Wine Country

Most Moroccan wine comes from a belt of vineyards around Meknes, planted on limestone and clay at four to six hundred metres, where altitude and Atlantic influence take the edge off a climate that would otherwise be too hot for the grapes. The main appellations, Guerrouane and Beni M'Tir, sit on the plateaux south and east of the city, with Zerhoun on the hills below the pilgrimage town. Plantings are dominated by southern French varieties - carignan, cinsault, grenache, syrah - and the best known style is a pale rosé, gris, drunk young and cold. A few estates have visitor facilities with tours of the cellars and tastings, always by appointment; most of the region is simply agricultural landscape of vines, olives and cereal with the Zerhoun hills behind.

What you actually see

• The Guerrouane plateau - the main vineyard belt southeast of Meknes.
• Estate cellars - barrel halls and tanks visited by appointment at the larger domaines.
• Vin gris - the pale rosé that is the region's signature style.
• The Zerhoun slopes - vines and olives on the hills below Moulay Idriss.

When to go

Late spring for green vines and wildflowers, or September for the harvest, which is early here and usually finished before the end of the month. Estate visits must be arranged in advance and many close at weekends. Summer on the plateau is very hot and the vineyards look dusty and shut.

Honest expectations

This is not a region set up for wine tourism: signage is minimal, cellar doors are few, and turning up unannounced usually gets you nothing. Alcohol is not sold everywhere in the region, so buying a bottle is not always straightforward. The wines are honest and inexpensive rather than exceptional, and the landscape is farmland, pleasant but not dramatic.

Nearby

Meknes, Volubilis and Moulay Idriss are all within half an hour of the vineyard belt.