Saint-Pourçain 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

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 ...

located around

Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule (, literally ''Saint-Pourçain on Sioule''; Auvergnat: ''Sant Porçanh de Siula'') is a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. It is named after Saint Pourçain, a 6th century AD ...

in the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

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 ...

. It can alternatively be considered as an upstream satellite of the Loire wine region or as a tiny wine region in its own right. White, rosé and red wines are produced on vineyards covering in 19 communes of Auvergne.

History

Saint-Pourçain was created as a VDQS in 1951.Vins de Saint-Pourçain : l’INAO donne son feu vert à l’AOC
press release from INAO on May 29, 2009 In 1982, the name of the VDQS was shortened from ''Vins de Saint-Pourçain sur Sioule'' to Saint-Pourçain.INAO: AOVDQS Saint-Pourçain
It was elevated to AOC status in 2009.Decanter: France announces new AOC
/ref>

Grape varieties

For white wines,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

and Sacy (under the local synonym Tressallier) are the main grape varieties, with

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 ...

as an accessory variety. For red wines,

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 Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

are used. For rosé wines, only Gamay is used.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Pourcain AOC French wine AOCs Auvergne