Collioure 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

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 America ...

s situated around the town of

Collioure Collioure (; ca, Cotlliure, ) is a commune in the southern French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Geography The town of Collioure is on the Côte Vermeille (Vermilion Coast), in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement ...

in the

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

wine region of

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 ...

. Red,

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method. ...

and a few white wines are produced-the reds from

Grenache noir Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens (wine), ripens late, so it needs hot ...

Mourvèdre Mourvèdre (also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla and Yecla ''denominaciones de origen'' (DOs) of Sp ...

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

and

Cinsaut Cinsaut or Cinsault ( ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and Ca ...

grapes; the white are made from a blend of

Grenache blanc Grenache blanc (also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol ...

and Grenache gris.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pg 55 Firefly Books 2004 The boundaries of the AOC are identical with the

Banyuls AOC Banyuls is a French ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) for a fortified apéritif or dessert wine made from old vines cultivated in terraces on the slopes of the Catalan Pyrenees in the Roussillon county of France, bordering, to the sou ...

as many of the grapes grown in Collioure are destined for use in the

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

'' Vins doux naturels'' of the region. The grapes that do not get used for Banyuls are then produced as non-fortified still wines under the Collioure AOC.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 188 Oxford University Press 2006

History

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 ...

was likely introduced to the area soon after the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

introduced

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 ...

to the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

are in the 6th century BC. Under the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, viticulture spread throughout the area with the nearby cities of

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

and

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

being major centers for the trade of Roussillon wine from areas like Collioure.E. McCarthy & M. Ewing-Mulligan ''"French Wine for Dummies"'' pg 213-221 Wiley Publishing 2001 For a large part of its history, the region has been under

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

rule and was even a part of the

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

region until the mid-17th century. Like other Roussillon wine regions, this Spanish influence can be seen in the types of wines produced here.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 294-299 Workman Publishing 2001 Even today, wine experts such as Hugh Johnson and

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

describe the wines of Collioure as being more like Spanish wines in profile than French.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 142 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 The history of the Collioure region has been closely linked to the wines of Banyuls. For several centuries, grapes produced in this region was used to produce the fortified wine that gained an international reputation. It wasn't until 1971 that the region gained its own identity with an AOC established for production of non-fortified red wines.A. Domine (ed) ''Wine'' pg 329 Ullmann Publishing 2008

Climate and geography

The Collioure wine region is located along the

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 e ...

coast in the Roussillon district, extending from the coast up to the foothills of the

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 C ...

which separates the area from the

Spanish wine region The mainstream quality wine regions in Spain are referred to as ''Denominaciones de Origen, denominaciones de origen protegidas (DOP)'' (similar to the French Appellations) and the wine they produce is regulated for quality according to specifi ...

across the border. Both the mountains and the sea have strong influences on the region's distinctly

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

. During the summer

growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whil ...

, temperatures are very warm and dry with the potential for drought. In the evening, cool winds from the mountains descend over the vineyards and this can help moderate temperatures for the vines.

Vineyard soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrients that the ...

in the area range from

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

soils near the sea and rivers to more

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 ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

based soils closer to the foothills of the Pyrenees. The soil types will affect the resulting style of wine with the more schist-based soils on the higher slopes of the foothills produced more intense, full bodied wines while the more alluvial soils closer to the sea will produce lighter styles of wine.

Viticulture and winemaking

Many producers in Collioure also produce wines under the Banyuls label, which tends to have more prestige and fetch a higher price on the international wine market. The nature of the

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

will usually determine what percentage of Collioure grapes are used for Banyuls and what percentage will remain Collioure. When grapes are destined to become Collioure they are usually harvested a couple of weeks earlier than the grapes that are destined to be fortified. This is because the warm climate of the region causes grape sugars to rise as acids in the grapes drastically fall. While fortified wines value the high percentage of

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 ...

from very ripe grapes, non-fortified wines need more of the

balance Balance or balancing may refer to: Common meanings * Balance (ability) in biomechanics * Balance (accounting) * Balance or weighing scale * Balance as in equality or equilibrium Arts and entertainment Film * ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgaria ...

from the remaining acids. Often, though, winemakers will still need to add additional acids such as

tartaric acid Tartaric acid is a white, crystalline organic acid that occurs naturally in many fruits, most notably in grapes, but also in bananas, tamarinds, and citrus. Its salt, potassium bitartrate, commonly known as cream of tartar, develops naturally i ...

in a process known as acidification. In a typical vintage about one-third of the grapes harvested in the region will be used for Collioure AOC labeled wines. Grapevines in Collioure are

trained Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

as "bush vines" which, along with their age, contributes to the very low yields of Collioure. In fact, the yields from this area are often among the lowest in France - often lower than the AOC maximum of 2.3 tones per acre (40 hectoliters per hectare). Wines produced in Collioure also must not rise above a maximum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

of 15% (min 12% for red, 11.5% for ''rose'' and whites)and residual sugar level of 5 grams per liter. This low sugar levels means that all wines from Collioure are technically dry wines but to wine drinkers they may perceive "sweetness" due to the very high levels of ripeness the grapes attain in the warm climate of the region.

Grapes and wine

The primary grapes of the Collioure AOC are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with Carignan and Cinsaut playing minor roles. The Mourvedre planted in Collioure is used almost exclusively for still wine production and is very rarely used in the production of Banyuls. The ''rose'' are produced mainly from the red wine grapes that have received very brief skin contact and maceration time or it maybe produced from a '' saignée'' method where some wine is "bleed off" from the

fermenting 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 ...

vats of red wines before much of the

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

inducing phenolic compounds have taken hold. This method produces a more intensely flavored and darker colored red wine while at the same time producing a high quality ''rose''. The whites are usually made from Grenache blanc. The red wines of the region are characterized by their rich, full bodied flavors with

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

aroma notes. As of 2008, there were an estimated 815 acres (330 hectares) of vineyards planted in the boundaries of the Collioure AOC. In 2002, the ''encépagement'' (or permitted grape components of the AOC wine) was changed which included permitting an AOC white wine for the first time. Today wines labeled Collioure AOC must contain at least a 60% blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with no individual

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

permitted to exceed 90% of the total blend. Cinsault and Carignan and allowed to up to a maximum of 30%. Prior to the 2002 AOC change, white wines produced from grapes grown in the Collioure region had to be sold as a ''

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 ...

''. Today the AOC white blend must contain a minimum of 70% blend of Grenache blanc and Grenache gris with

Macabeo Macabeo, also called Viura or Macabeu (, ), is a white variety of wine grape. It is widely grown in the Rioja region of northeastern Spain, the Cava producing areas south of Barcelona, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. Spanish ...

, Malvoisie,

Marsanne Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage ...

and

Vermentino Vermentino is a light-skinned wine grape variety, primarily found in Italian wine. It is widely planted in both Sardinia and Liguria (wine), Liguria, to some extent in Corsica, in Piedmont under the name Favorita, and in increasing amounts in Lan ...

permitted to round out the remaining portion of the blend - though each of those grape varieties can not individually exceed 15%.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 237 Dorling Kindersley 2005 Over the years, the quality of wines produced in the Collioure AOC has been steadily increasing. Wine experts, such as Andre Domine point to the 1982 ''encépagement'' change that permitted the use of Syrah and Mourvedre as a turning point. Modern winemaking techniques have also introduced temperature controlled fermentation as well as increased usage of

oak barrels Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a v ...

for the

aging of wine The aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids an ...

. The most well made reds of Collioure are described as having polished (or "soft") tannins, a full bodied and deep dark color with spicy aroma and flavor notes. The ''roses'' of the region can be very aromatic and usually have a raspberry color. They are traditionally paired with the local

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

. The whites can have a golden color and be very full bodied. They are usually consumed within 3 years of harvest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collioure Aoc Languedoc-Roussillon wine AOCs Roussillon wine AOCs Banyuls-sur-Mer

History

Climate and geography

Viticulture and winemaking

Grapes and wine

See also

References