Cadillac is an ''

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 boun ...

'' (AOC) for

sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

from the

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

region in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is located within the

Entre-Deux-Mers Entre-Deux-Mers is a French region, well known as a Bordeaux wine growing region. The geographical area is situated between the rivers Garonne and Dordogne, and is bounded in the east by the border of the Gironde department and in the west by ...

subregion of Bordeaux. It takes its name from the town of Cadillac-sur-Garonne, formerly known as Cadillac. In 2008, the area under cultivation was , producing 6,000 hectolitres of wine.

History

The history of wine-growing in the Cadillac area parallels that of the wider Bordeaux wine growing region. Situated within the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux AOC,Fiche de l'AOC Cadillac
at ''premierescotesdebordeaux.com'', accessed January 10, 2010. Cadillac has been a separate AOC since August 10, 1973.Cahier des charges de l'appellation ''cadillac''
at ''legifrance.gouv.fr'', accessed January 10, 2010.

Location and climate

Bordeaux wine map focus on the dessert wine districts

Cadillac-sur-Garonne, formerly known as Cadillac, is a small town tucked between the right bank of the Garonne and the calcareous cliffs of the Entre-Deux-Mers plateau, and is about thirty kilometres from Bordeaux. The appellation area includes the communes of Baurech, Beguey,

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

, Capian, Cardan, Donzac, Tabanac, Le Tourne,

Verdelais Verdelais () is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde department The following is a list of the 535 communes of the Gironde department of France. T ...

and Villenave-de-Rions. The Cadillac region enjoys the same moderate oceanic climate as the

Mérignac Mérignac may refer to : ;Places * Mérignac, Charente, a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France * Mérignac, Charente-Maritime, a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France * Mérignac, Gironde, a commun ...

meteorological station. The proximity of the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

, which runs immediately beneath the wine-growing area, creates a local micro-climate. In autumn the river gives rise to early morning humidity, which gradually dries up in the course of the day, conditions that are particularly conducive to the development of moulds that eventually turn into

noble rot Noble rot (french: pourriture noble; german: Edelfäule; it, Muffa nobile; hu, Aszúsodás) is the beneficial form of a grey fungus, ''Botrytis cinerea'', affecting wine grapes. Infestation by ''Botrytis'' requires moist conditions. If the we ...

Grape varieties

The appellation area is planted with traditional Bordeaux grape varieties.

Sémillon Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC. History The Sémill ...

covers 70% of the area. A grape variety with potentially high concentrations of sugar, it has a thin skin which allows the ''

Botrytis cinerea ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" or ...

'' fungus to develop and produce noble rot. The 20% of

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

and Sauvignon gris grapes used add a touch of liveliness to the wine, while the 10% of

Muscadelle Muscadelle is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an unid ...

add a touch of added complexity.

Viticulture

The density of planting required is at least 4,500 vines per hectare. The distance between rows should be 2.50 metres at most, and the distance between individual vines within the row should be at least 0.85 metres. Pruning of vines should take place annually, before the first leaves have fully developed. Single and Double Guyot, Cordon de Royat (unilateral cordon), Eventail (Fan) and Gobelet (Goblet) are the permitted pruning methods. The number of buds (that will eventually bear clusters) is limited to a maximum of 12. Once suckering and green harvesting have been completed, the maximum number of clusters allowed per vine is 14. Plots that have been abandoned can no longer be considered part of the AOC area. Wine-growers must mow or use herbicides to prevent weeds from growing up around the vines, otherwise they could create a humid micro-climate below the leaves that would encourage the development of cryptogamic diseases. They must also carry out treatments to keep the occurrence of diseases such as

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...

and oidium below the permitted quality thresholds. The proportion of dead or missing vines may not exceed 20% of the total number. If this percentage is exceeded, the final yield must be cut down proportionately.

Harvesting

Harvesting is carried out when the grapes are fully ripe. The degree of ripeness is ascertained by the presence of noble rot or signs of over-maturity, i.e. grapes have begun to dry out on the vine and have become shrivelled, golden-coloured berries. It can also be assessed by measuring the sugar content. Before harvesting can begin, it must be shown that the grapes contain at least 255 grams of sugar per litre. Harvesting is carried out manually over multiple successive pickings combined with sorting of the grapes. The grape-pickers are ordered to pick only those clusters or part-clusters which are either fully ripe or have heightened sugar content brought about by noble rot. This means that the use of harvesting machines is automatically precluded.

Winemaking

Once they arrive in the wine sheds, the grapes are pressed. The process is carried out slowly in order to allow enough time for the must to be extracted from the virtually dried-out fruits. Even so, yields of juice are low. The use of machines which completely break down the grapes is prohibited, i.e. self-emptying tanks with combined rotor crushers and must pumps, continuous screw presses and small diameter screw presses. The must is placed in tanks and cooled ready for racking. Afterwards, the must is left to ferment, either in vats or in barrels. The fermentation process is lengthy, since the sugar and alcohol slow down the activity of the

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

Fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

either stops naturally or is stopped by the wine-grower using cooling and sterile filtering processes: this kind of filtering uses a very fine mesh to capture the yeasts that have been anesthetized by the cold. At this stage, the wine is stabilized against possible yeast or bacterial contamination by the addition of sulfites. The wine is left to mature in vats or barrels for several months and is not allowed to leave the wine sheds before 31 March of the year following the harvest. Quarterly rackings ensure that the lees held in suspension in the wine are gradually removed. Before being bottled, the wine is filtered and the sulfite level is adjusted.

Wine styles and AOC regulations

The wine has a golden yellow colour that slowly develops over time to a shade of amber. Aromas are generally fruity (apricot, citrus), floral (honeysuckle, honey, acacia...) and spicy (vanilla). On the palate, sweetness of aroma and sugar content are balanced by the wine's acidity. The wine is suitable for aging. The wine must have a minimum acquired alcohol content of 12% by volume. The amount of (non-fermented)

residual sugar The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, whil ...

must be at least 51 grams per litre. If the wine has been enriched, the

potential alcohol Must weight is a measure of the amount of sugar in grape juice (must) and, hence, indicates the amount of alcohol that could be produced if it is all fermented to alcohol, rather than left as residual sugar.

References

External links

Premières Côtes de Bordeaux: Cadillac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadillac Aoc Bordeaux AOCs