We report on the gold-based vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of GaAs/(InGa)As/GaAs axial double-heterostructure nanowires using low-pressure metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Systematic growth investigations were performed to study the influence of the growth time, the temperature and the V/III ratio on the composition and the extent of the (InGa)As segments. A group-III precursor growth interrupt prior to and after the (InGa)As growth showed the highest solid indium fraction and the strongest composition gradients at the heterojunctions. The experimental results were discussed considering the droplet composition as well as MOVPE and VLS kinetics. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.