![Vignoble du Château du Cedre à Bru](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Vignoble_du_Ch%C3%A2teau_du_Cedre_%C3%A0_Bru.jpg)
Cahors () is a red
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 ...
made from grapes grown in or around the town of
Cahors
Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Quer ...
in the
Lot department of southern
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 ...
. Cahors 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) (Controlled designation of origin) associated with part of the
South West France wine-region. The dominant grape variety in AOC Cahors wines,
Malbec
Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...
(known locally as "Auxerrois” or "Côt") must make up a minimum of 70% of the wine. Winemakers may supplement the Malbec with up to 30%
Merlot
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
and/or
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 ...
. Marketers may use the designation ''AOC Cahors'' only for red wines - they distribute the white and rosé wine produced in the same area under the designation ''
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 s ...
du Lot'' instead.
Cahors vineyards comprise , with a planting density of at least 4000 vines per hectare.
Today's wine-growing area lies mainly west of the town of Cahors. The most important places are
Mercuès,
Parnac,
Luzech
Luzech ( or ; Languedocien: ''Lusèg'') is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.
Geography
Luzech is a small town of around 1,750 inhabitants, located in Quercy at the heart of the vineyard of Cahors wine making region (AOC ...
,
Prayssac
Prayssac (; oc, Praissac) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.
Population
Notable people
*Birthplace of Jean-Baptiste Bessières, Duke of Istrie
See also
*Communes of the Lot department
The following is a list of t ...
,
Grézels,
Puy-l'Éveque and
Vire sur Lot
Vire-sur-Lot (, literally ''Vire on Lot''; oc, Vira) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.
See also
*Communes of the Lot department
The following is a list of the 313 communes of the Lot department of France
...
- all located in the valley of the
Lot river.
History
![Cahors Malbec wine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Cahors_Malbec_wine.JPG)
The history of Cahors
winemaking
Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...
goes back to the era of
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, with vines being planted in the area around 50 BC. Since that time, the vines have remained in the land of
Quercy
Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Au ...
and their history has been combined with that of the region.
The region of Cahors enjoyed a great reputation from the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
until the late 19th century. Its "black wine" was sold shipped from England to Russia. Similar to many other winemaking regions, Cahors was hit badly by The
Great French Wine Blight
The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an aphid that originated in North America and was carried across the Atl ...
in the late 19th century, when the vines were attacked in the
phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
epidemic. In the case of Cahors, this happened in 1883-1885.
In February 1956, Cahors was hit by frosts which wiped out almost all the vineyards of the region, which thus needed to be replanted ''en masse''. In this replanting, Malbec became more dominant than it had been before. Cahors was awarded AOC status in 1971.
Since 2007, the UIVC (Interprofessional Wine Union of Cahors) has developed an association with Wines of Argentina, the agency in charge of promoting
Argentine wine
Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 300-301 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. Dur ...
s at an international level. The same agency originally created
World Malbec Day Malbec World Day is an annual observance celebrated on April 17, to commemorate the day on which President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento of Argentina officially made it his mission to transform Argentina's wine industry. On April 17, 1853, Sarmiento ta ...
, which is celebrated on the 17th of April every year.
Soils and climate
Most of the vineyards are located on the
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
terraces within the meanders formed by the river Lot. The lowest terrace is too close to the river and therefore not suitable for
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
; vineyards have only been established on the second, third, and fourth terraces. There is increasing interest in the plateau (technically the fourth terrace) for viticulture called "Les Causses".
The climate of Cahors is mainly influenced by the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, with hot summers and wet winters. In contrast to
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 prefectur ...
, it also is influenced by the
Mediterranean Sea
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 ea ...
. The river Lot is an important factor for the
microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...
in the vineyards, especially as the nearby
Massif Central
The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France.
Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...
may occasionally cause severe frost in winter.
Wineries
Wineries include
Château Rouffiac,
Château Bovila
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
,
Clos de Gamot,
Château de Haute-Serre,
Mas del périé Fabien Jouves,
Château de Mercuès,
Clos La Coutale,
Château La Caminade,
Château de Lagrézette
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
,
Château Saint-Didier-Parnac,
Château Haut-Monplaisir,
Château Famaey,
Château Chambert
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
and
Château Lacapelle Cabanac.
Kagor wine
Kagor is a
Moldovan wine
Moldova has a well-established wine industry. With a production of around 2 million hectolitres of wine (as of 2018), it is the 11th largest European wine-producing country. Moldova has a vineyard area of of which are used for commercial produ ...
made from
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...
grapes.
Its name comes from Cahors, France.
See also
*
List of Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée wines
The following is a list of French wines that are entitled to use the designation ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) on their label. There are currently over 300 appellations acknowledged by the INAO.
:
Image:Mouton93_1.jpg, 1993 Chât ...
References
{{Wines
South West France AOCs