I have been doing a lot of thinking about these 2 varieties, Do they taste the same or similar..???  Thinking about getting one..????  I have a fair amount of sun, but not very high temperatures.

I got my first Panache in July last year.  We didn't have all that much heat.  I say go for them.

Jon has them for sale as trees:
http://encantofarms.com/davewilson.html

You can visit him and get some nice figs!

I Like them both, Panache is prettier to look at and tastes similar to me....my tongue may be wrong...LOL

Rodney, if you're in a warmer area of San Diego, I'd say to grow both.  The first time I visited Jon was in early December 2007 and he picked his first ripe Panache that year during my visit with my friend Bryan Brunner, though that was a tree growing in the shadows of his banana jumble.  I think Panache has a bit more acid flavor to it.  Some of mine are very much like strawberry jam (to my taste) but ones that ripen with less heat have more "bite" to them.

Panache and VdB are the varieties I started with a little over a year
ago. I bought one 5 gal pot of each from local nurseries and planted
them in the back yard a year ago in October. They are now about
6 foot tall each with multiple branches induced by pinching and pruning.

My first summer's experience with Panache and VdB in the backyard is they
are quite different trees. Panache is much more of a discrete crop tree.
I got 2 crops off the Panache, early July and Early Sept, where the figs
ripened in a burst. VdB was throwing a ripe fig or two just about continuously
from Late June till late November. Panache is more vertical, VdB more sprawling.
They have about equal vigor. The birds are much more of a problem on the VdB.
VdB was a slightly better tasting fig, it isn't sweeter or more jammy/berry
flavored but has a more complex flavor. Waiting to see if that holds true as
they mature. Both are very good in the first year, I have no complaints about
the fruit from either.

I live in Tucson, so my climate is fig friendly, but not nearly as much as San Diego. 
I get more heat/light on ripening figs but the winter lows here are a bit colder.

Hi Rodney,
It never freezes in San Diego ? Really ?
Choosing between a dark and a light fig, don't ask Martin :)
You can grow both - Panache is longer to ripen - so if the hot season at your location was short, you would have to go VDB known at my nurseries here as "Rouge de Bordeaux/Red from Bordeaux".
I have two unknown figtrees - and one is probably VDB - but they are still too young to tell . Normally next year I'll know ... And if not, I will be buying a VDB, but not a Panache as here you won't eat that much of figs,
and Panache does slit/explode the fruits too easily. Is your climate humid ... ?
But "Panache" means stripped and there are different strains of stripped figs ... I saw a post about Col-de-dame-something that was a stripped fig.

VdB/Negronne grows well almost everywhere. Panache needs more heat. VdB and Rogue de Bordeaux are different figs. some believes that Rogue de Bordeaux is same as Pastiliere. Pastiliere in most of part of US will drop figs. there are few members who sourced Rogue de Bordeaux from europe and now testing to see if it's indeed same as Pastiliere. 

problem with VdB is, if it's wet, it will bleed flavor heavily. it won't taste as good. however, when it's dry and hot, the tastes is amazing. Panache.. i have heard that it tastes great as long as there is long hot summer. some indicates rubbery thick skin, some don't. i held off on Panache for longest time. to me it looked like just a pretty looking fig. but with heat in nc, and after getting rather nice CdDB here, i thought i will give it a try. 

Grew both in large containers here south of Chicago with Vdb being the better tasting fig on palate.
Vdb is an excellent fig (personal palate) and under rated since its so widely available at nurseries.

Panache has rubbery skin and tends to split in yard and some that did not still were not as good as Vdb.
But thats on my palate only.

bada_bing, my Panache produced ripe figs every week from late July into October so your experience isn't at all like mine.  My tree is 4-5 years old.

Thanks for all the input. Will see if I can buy both, and will let you know on the progress. Great Input, I LOVE IT.

2011 I had my first Panachee's and tough skin, split wide open before ripe, last year I had more than a dozen and not even a skin with soft skin, last year it got quiet root bound so maybe I had over watered it the year before, I just don't understand hard to soft skin, we will see what happens this year.

In reading, a collector said that its best to not water when the fruit is about to get ripe, for several days. Of course he was talking about a tree planted in the ground. In a pot I would think weather and other factors affect our watering patterns.

in container, water as needed, but little less when fig is swelling. then again, older trees seem to handle over watering better too. but too much water bleed out flavor.