Southwest France Wine
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Southwest France Wine
South West France, or in French ''Sud-Ouest'', is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux.Terroir-France: South West Wine Information
accessed on February 23, 2008 These areas, which have a total of 16,000 s (40,000 acres) of vineyards, consist of several discontinuous wine "islands" throughout the region (where Bordeaux region itself is situated), and more or less to the west of the

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French Wine
French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and American wine-producing regions. French wine traces its history to the 6th century BCE, with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced range from expensive wines sold internationally to modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines of the post war period. Two concepts central to the better French wines are the notion of ''terroir'', which links the style of the wines to the locations where the grapes are grown and the wine is made, and the ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) system, replaced by the Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP) system in 2012. Appellation rules closely define which grape varieties and winemaking practices are approved for classification ...
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Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The Sea has played a central role in the history of Western civilization. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. The Mediterranean Sea ...
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Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called ''"Bordelais"'' (masculine) or ''"Bordelaises"'' (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region. The city of Bordeaux proper had a population of 260,958 in 2019 within its small municipal territory of , With its 27 suburban municipalities it forms the Bordeaux Metropolis, in charge of metropolitan issues. With a population of 814,049 at the Jan. 2019 census. it is the fifth most populated in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille and ahead of Toulouse. Together with its suburbs and exurbs, except satellite cities of Arcachon and Libourne, the Bordeaux metropolitan area had a population of 1,363,711 that same year (Jan. 2019 census), ma ...
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Ancient Rome (wine)
Ancient Rome played a pivotal role in the history of wine. The earliest influences on the viticulture of the Italian peninsula can be traced to ancient Greeks and the Etruscans. The rise of the Roman Empire saw both technological advances in and burgeoning awareness of winemaking, which spread to all parts of the empire. Rome's influence has had a profound effect on the histories of today's major winemaking regions in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The Roman belief that wine was a daily necessity made the drink " democratic" and ubiquitous; in various qualities, it was available to slaves, peasants and aristocrats, men and women alike. To ensure the steady supply of wine to Roman soldiers and colonists, viticulture and wine production spread to every part of the empire. The economic opportunities presented by trading in wine drew merchants to do business with tribes native to Gaul and Germania, bringing Roman influences to these regions even before the arrival of the ...
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Petit Manseng
Petit Manseng (sometimes translated: Small Manseng, rarely "Little Manseng") is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France. It produces the highest quality wine of any grape in the Manseng family. The name is derived from its small, thick skin berries. Coupled with the small yields of the grapevine, most Petit Manseng farmers produce around 15 hl of wine per hectare. The grape is often left on the vine till December to produce a late harvest dessert wine. The grape is grown primarily in Gascony, Jurançon and around Madiran (for Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh) but has recently drawn interest in New World wine regions like California, North Georgia, Virginia, and Ohio. In May 2020, CSIRO scientists discovered through DNA analysis that Australia's plantings of Petit Manseng, first imported in 1979, are in fact Gros Manseng. The reason is that it is expected to follow Viognier's path to popularity among white wine drinkers. J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Compa ...
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Gros Manseng
Gros Manseng (sometimes translated: Large Manseng, rarely "Big Manseng") is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France, and is part of the Manseng family. It produces dry wines in the Jurançon and Béarn regions of Southwest France. In Gascony it is permitted in the Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC), in the Côtes de Gascogne and in the Floc de Gascogne. Comparison to Petit Manseng While the grape vines of Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng look very similar to each other, there are distinct differences. Gros Manseng's berries are larger and less susceptible to coulure. The vine also produces much higher yields but the resulting wine is less elegant and rich than wine made from Petit Manseng.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 334 Oxford University Press 2006 Wine styles On its own, Gros Manseng has the potential to produce intensely flavored wines with high acidity, apricot and quin ...
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Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. It reaches a maximum altitude of at the peak of Aneto. For the most part, the main crest forms a divide between Spain and France, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between. Historically, the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre extended on both sides of the mountain range. Etymology In Greek mythology, Pyrene (mythology), Pyrene is a princess who eponym, gave her name to the Pyrenees. The Greek historiography, Greek historian Herodotus says Pyrene is the name of a town in Celts, Celtic Europe. According to Silius Italicus, she was the virgin daughter of Bebryx, a king in Narbonensis, Mediterranean Gaul by whom the hero Hercules was given hospitality during his ...
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Tannat
Tannat is a red wine grape, historically grown in South West France in the Madiran AOC, and is now one of the most prominent grapes in Uruguay, where it is considered the "national grape". Tannat is also grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, South Africa, and in the Italian region of Apulia, where it is used as a blending grape. In the US states of Maryland and Virginia, there are small experimental plantings of the vine, and plantings in California have increased dramatically in the first years of the 21st century. It has also been increasingly planted in Arizona, Oregon and Texas. Tannat wines produced in Uruguay are usually quite different in character from Madiran wines, being lighter in body and lower in tannins. It is also used to make full bodied rosé. In France, efforts to solve the harsh tannic nature of the grape led to the development of the winemaking technique known as micro-oxygenation. France Tannat is mainly found near the French Pyréné ...
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Floc De Gascogne
The Floc de Gascogne is a regional apéritif from the Côtes de Gascogne and Armagnac regions of Sud-Ouest wine region of France. It is a '' vin de liqueur'' fortified with armagnac, the local brandy. It has had ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' status since 1990. Elsewhere in France analogous drinks are made ( Pineau des Charentes in the Cognac zone, Macvin in Jura; there is also Pommeau, similarly made by blending apple juice and apple brandy). History Floc de Gascogne is produced according to a recipe that has been in use in the French region of Gascony since the 16th century. The name "Floc de Gascogne" was coined by Henri Lamor, a winemaker from Cravencères, in 1954. The word "floc" comes from the Occitan language and means bouquet of flowers. Characteristics Floc de Gascogne is a mistelle, a ''vin de liqueur'' (a fortified sweet wine) made of 1/3 of armagnac and 2/3 of fresh grape juice both from the wine area ''Armagnac'' / ''Côtes de Gascogne''. Both of thes ...
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Côtes De Gascogne
Côtes de Gascogne is a wine-growing district in Gascony producing principally white wine. It is mainly located in the département of the Gers in the former Midi-Pyrénées region (now part of the Occitanie region), and it belongs to the wine region South West France. The designation Côtes de Gascogne is used for a ''Vin de Pays'' ("country wine") produced in the Armagnac area. The decree of 13 September 1968 created the difference between a ''Vin de Pays'' and simpler table wine, the so-called ''Vin de table''. The designation ''Côtes de Gascogne'' obliges the producers to respect the stricter rules and production standards, which were adopted with the decree of 25 January 1982. Association of producers The Association of Producers of the ''Vins de Pays Côtes de Gascogne'' was founded on 15 March 1979. It protects the interests of the members, determines the production standards and ensures respect of these rules. The association counts on this moment approximately 1,400 w ...
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Vin De Pays
''Vin de pays'' (, "country wine") was a French wine classification that was above the ''vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former ''vin délimité de qualité supérieure'' classification. The ''vin de pays'' classification was replaced by the EU indication '' Indication Géographique Protégée'' in 2009. Legislation on the ''Vin de pays'' terminology was created in 1973 and passed in 1979,winepros.com.au. allowing producers to distinguish wines that were made using grape varieties or procedures other than those required by the AOC rules, without having to use the simple and commercially non-viable table wine classification. Unlike table wines, which are only indicated as being from France, ''Vin de pays'' carries a geographic designation of origin, the producers have to submit the wine for analysis and tasting, and the wines have to be made from certain varieties or blends. Regulations regardi ...
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Grapes
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, and the fruit has been used as human food over history. Eaten fresh or in dried form (as raisins, currants and sultanas), grapes also hold cultural significance in many parts of the world, particularly for their role in winemaking. Other grape-derived products include various types of jam, juice, vinegar and oil. History The Middle East is generally described as the homeland of grape and the cultivation of this plant began there 6,000–8,000 years ago. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, leading to the discovery of alcoholic drinks such as wine. The earliest archeological evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Geor ...
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