Bugey wine is produced in the

Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon and Geneva. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the department. It includes the foothills of the ...

region in the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where ...

département of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, under the two VDQS designations Bugey and Roussette du Bugey.JORF n°66 du 18 mars 2004 page 5270 texte n° 33: Arrêté du 13 janvier 2004 relatif aux appellations d'origine Vins délimités de qualité supérieure « Bugey » et « Roussette du Bugey »
/ref> On May 28, 2009, INAO gave its final approval for the elevation of Bugey and Roussette du Bugey to ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...

'' (AOC) status.Vins du Bugey : l’INAO donne son feu vert à l’AOC
, press release from INAO on May 29, 2009 A high proportion of Bugey wine is white, but white, rosé, red and sparkling wines are all produced in Bugey. Bugey wine made from the aromatic white variety

Altesse Altesse or Roussette is a white French wine grape variety found primarily in the Savoy wine region of France. It yields small harvests and ripens late but is resistant to grey rot. Wines made from Altesse have exotic aromas, often together wit ...

, locally called Roussette, are among the more noted from the area. Vineyards of the two Bugey appellations cover around spread over 67 communes in the department of Ain.

Allowed designations

Under the present VDQS regulations, Bugey may carry the following designations: * Bugey - white, rosé or red * Bugey, plus a mention of geographical origin: ** Manicle, a ''

lieu dit ''Lieu-dit'' (; plural: ''lieux-dits'') (literally ''said-location'') is a French toponymic term for a small geographical area bearing a traditional name. The name usually refers to some characteristic of the place, its former use, a past event, e ...

'' in Cheignieu-la-Balme - white or red ** Montagnieu - red * Bugey mousseux or pétillant (sparkling with different amount of bubbles) - white or rosé * Bugey mousseux or pétillant, plus a mention of geographical origin: ** Cerdon - rosé ** Montagnieu - white * Roussette du Bugey - white * Roussette du Bugey, plus a mention of geographical origin: ** Montagnieu - white **

Virieu le Grand Virieu-le-Grand () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

- white

Grape varieties

White wines

White Bugey, with the exception of white Bugey-Manicle, must contain at least 50% Chardonnay, and may furthermore contain

Aligoté Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines, especially in the Burgundy region of France where it was first recorded in the 18th century.winepros.com.au. Since it is tolerant to cold, this variety is also cultivated in Eastern Euro ...

, Altesse,

Jacquère Jacquère is a variety of white grape found primarily in the Savoy wine region of France. It is a high-yielding vine variety which is used to produce lightly scented, refreshing and gently aromatic dry white wine, such as Vin de Savoie. Jacqu� ...

Pinot gris Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

and

Mondeuse blanche Mondeuse blanche is a variety of white grape almost exclusively found in and around the Savoy (Savoie) wine region in France. With just of plantations in 1999, it leads a dwindling existence and is used primarily in the VDQS wine Bugey and th ...

as accessory grapes. Bugey-Manicle must be 100% Chardonnay. Roussette de Bugey, which only exists as a white wine, must contain at least 50% Altesse, which is locally known under the name Roussette. Chardonnay is allowed as an accessory grape until the 2008 vintage, but from the 2009 vintage all Roussette de Bugey must be 100% Altesse. Roussette de Bugey with a mention of geographical origin is already required to be made from only Altesse grapes.

Rosé wines

For rosé Bugey, a minimum of 50% of

Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th centu ...

and Pinot noir, alone or together must be used.

Mondeuse noire Mondeuse noire () is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit ...

, Pinot gris and

Poulsard Poulsard (also Ploussard) is a red French wine grape variety from the Jura wine region. The name Ploussard is used mainly around the town of Pupillin but can appear on wine labels throughout Jura as an authorized synonyms. While technically a ...

are allowed as accessory grapes.

Red wines

Red Bugey can contain Gamay, Pinot noir or Mondeuse noire, with the exception of red Bugey-Manicle that can only contain Pinot noir, and red Bugey-Montagnieu that can only contain Mondeuse noire.

Sparkling wines

White sparkling Bugey, with the exception of Bugey-Montagnieu, must contain a minimum of 70% of Chardonnay, Jacquère and

Molette Molette is a white French wine grape planted primarily in the Savoie region. As a varietal wine, Molette tends to produce neutral tasting wine so it is often blended with Roussette to add more complexity.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Cour ...

. The following grapes are allowed as accessory grapes: Aligoté, Altesse, Mondeuse blanche, Pinot gris, Gamay, Pinot noir, Mondeuse noire and Poulsard. White sparkling Bugey-Montagnieu must contain a minimum of 70% of Altesse, Chardonnay and Mondeuse noire, with Jacquère, Pinot noir, Gamay and Molette allowed as accessory grapes. Rosé sparkling Bugey follows the same rules as still Bugey rosé, with the exception of rosé sparkling Bugey-Cerdon, which must be made either from 100% Gamay or a blend of Gamay and Poulsard.

Classification and previous naming

The wines of Bugey have been classified as VDQS wines since 1958, initially under the name ''Vin du Bugey''. Before the 2004 change to the present VDQS names, all of the following names in combination with additional designations were possible for Bugey wines: * Mousseux du Bugey * Pétillant du Bugey * Roussette du Bugey * Roussette du Bugey, plus the mention of one of the following crus: Anglefort, Arbignieu, Chanay, Lagnieu, Montagnieu, Virieu-le-Grand. * Vin du Bugey, or Bugey * Vin du Bugey, or Bugey, plus the mention of one of the following crus: Virieu-le-Grand, Montagnieu, Manicle, Machuraz, Cerdon * Vin du Bugey-Cerdon pétillant * Vin du Bugey-Cerdon mousseux * Vin du Bugey mousseux * Vin du Bugey pétillant Bugey has wished to achieve full ''

'' (AOC) status for some time. As of April 2008, INAO published draft AOC regulations for Bugey and Roussette du Bugey as part of the scrutiny process. By May 28, 2009, the scrutiny process was finished and INAO gave its approval, with official publication of AOC rules to follow.

Regional affiliation

Bugey is located outside any of the major French wine regions, and is therefore usually counted as a small wine-making area of its own. Since the closest vineyards of Bugey and Savoy are within a few kilometers of another,World Atlas of wine 5th ed 2001, p. 149 it is not surprising that Bugey sometimes is thought to be a part of the Savoy wine region. However, it was historically a part of Burgundy and is located in another department (Ain) than Savoy.

References

External links

Bugey wine-growers' official site
{{Portal bar, Wine, France