Quincy 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) in the Loire Valley 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 ...

which produces dry 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 ...

. It grows in two communes: Quincy and Brinay in the department of

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

History

Antiquity

The etymology of Quincy is thought to come from the Roman name, ''domaine de Quintius''. The Bituriges cultivated the land since ancient times.Site de 1001 dégustations (page sur ''Quincy'')
consulté le 5 décembre 2009.

Middle-Ages

In 1120, the wine of Quincy was named in a speech by Pope Calixtus II and the

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 ...

introduced by the monks at Cîteaux Abbey.

Contemporary Times

After the consecutive replanting of the vineyards because of the

Phylloxera epidemic 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 ...

, Quincy was the first commune to be awarded an AOC in this part of the Loire region, on 6 August 1936.

Geographical Location

Localisation

The Quincy vineyard is situated in the ''Champagne bérrichonne''in the Cher department, between

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

and

Vierzon Vierzon () is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher with some light industry and an area of forestry and farming to the north. It is situated some northwest o ...

. It is planted on a plateau of the right bank of the river

. Extending from North to South, the East side of it is exposed, divided between the communes of Quincy and Brinay.

Pedology and orography

The vineyard was planted on a Kimmeridgian

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

y plateau, hanging over the Cher River. It is covered by a mixture of alluvium silica-

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

soil. This mixture drains away the excess water and the in-depth marl cover preserves water, protecting it from a dry period. The soil has three layers: a soil made up of sand and gravel on an underlay of clay, a sandy soil covered by red sand and a sandy-silt soil on a clayey-sand or clay with slightly sandy soil.

Climate

The vineyards benefits from the relatively warm and dry local climate.

Vineyards

Grape varieties

Quincy white wine is only made using the Sauvignon grape. Sauvignon blanc is the main grape planted, while the closely related Sauvignon gris grape represents 10% of the planted surfaces. The not so fertile soil reduces the exuberance of the Sauvignon vegetation well. Harvesting control also ensures optimum maturity of the grape.

Viticulture

The Sauvignon grapes are grown in long

trellis Trellis may refer to: Structures * Trellis (architecture), an architectural structure often used to support plants (especially vineyards) * Trellis drainage pattern, a drainage system Technology * Trellis (graph), a special kind of graph used ...

es to help manage its capricious and low fertility. The single Guyot is limited to a number of 10 vine eyes for support while the double Guyot has 12 vine eyes. With cordon training, or

cordon de Royat The use of vine training systems in 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 ...

, a maximum of 14 vine eyes are used, split on two heads of a maximum of 2 vine eyes. The plantation density must be more than 5,500 vines per hectare. The distance between rows cannot exceed 1.45 metres and the distance between vines on a row must be between 0.90 and 1.25 metres. Foliage trellising is compulsory and must not exceed 0.6 times the space between the rows. This height is measured between 10 cm under the string and the height of trimming. Irrigation is forbidden, as is weeding of the gaps and embankments.

Harvesting

It can be carried out by sorting the grapes out manually or by using a machine to pick the grapes from the vine. The harvesting of vines that are less than three years old cannot be used for wines of the AOC. The amount of sugar in the grape must be less than 170 grams per litre and the potential degree of the juice should be less than 12.5% volume. The permitted yield of the appellation is 65 hectolitres per hectare. It can be 75 hl/ha as an exception, but it is the maximum yield.

Wine making

After it has been picked, the grape is pressed as early as possible. The must is left to undergo a cold stabilisation before fermentation takes place in a tank. After fermentation, ageing of the non-fermented matter sometimes happens in fermentation vats.

Marketing

In 2006, production was 12,283 hl. Quincy is mainly sold to the French market; however, exports represents 20% of the production.

Wines

The AOC is only used for dry white wine. It can be delicate and fruity (citrusy), with hints of white flowers and pepper. It is a wine which keeps its quality for at least 4 or 5 years, although ageing does not improve the initial quality. This wine is best accompanied with seafood and fish from the Loire or after a meal with goat's cheese from the region such as Valençay,

Pouligny-Saint-Pierre Pouligny-Saint-Pierre () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. The commune is known internationally for its goat's cheese, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, that was first made in the village in the 19th century. Geography The commune ...

Crottin de Chavignol Crottin de Chavignol is a goat cheese produced in the Loire Valley. This cheese is the claim to fame for the village of Chavignol, France, which has only two hundred inhabitants. History The small cylindrical goat cheese from the area around Ch ...

.Sources: Centre INAO de Sancerre

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quincy Aoc Loire AOCs