Fronton AOC 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 in South West France in the département of

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's ...

and

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; oc, Tarn e Garona ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and ...

, located about 35 km north of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

History

Fronton is an old wine production region with the first vines planted by the Romans on the land overlooking the valley of Tarn.

Wines

* Most of the Fronton area wines (about 85%) are red wines made primarily of the Fronton's exclusive grape variety

Négrette Négrette is a dark red wine grape grown primarily in South West France (wine region), South West France in the region between Albi and Toulouse. Wine regions The principal appellation using this variety, Côtes du Frontonnais (red and rosé), ...

(minimum 50% in the blend). The Négrette (sometimes known as Pinot St. George when grown in the United States) gives the wine fruity and delicate features, providing a powerful red wine, dark and tannic, with aromas of violet and licorice. Reds reach their fullness between 4–7 years. Other grape varieties include

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 ...

Côt 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 ...

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being us ...

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' ...

Fer Servadou Fer (also known as Fer Servadou, Pinenc, Mansois and several other synonyms) is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France and is most notable for its role in the ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) ...

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 ...

, Cinsaut and Mauzac. *

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. ...

wines (around 15% of production) are characterized by low acidity, and especially when négrette is present these wines are drunk young.

Production

200 cooperative winery members and 60 wineries produce in total about 100,000 hectoliters yearly. The vineyards cover 2,300 hectares spread over 20 municipalities, including:

: Bouloc,

Castelnau-d'Estrétefonds Castelnau-d'Estrétefonds (; oc, Castèlnau d'Estretasfonts) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is served by Castelnau-d'Estrétefonds station on the Bordeaux-Toulouse line. Population Castelnau-d'Estr ...

, Fronton, Saint-Rustice, Vacquiers, Villaudric, Villematier, Villemur-sur-Tarn et Villeneuve-lès-Bouloc

Bessens Bessens () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Monuments Bessens La Mairie.jpg, Town hall Bessens église de l’Assomption Ouest.jpg, Church Bessens église de l’Assomption.jpg, Be ...

Campsas Campsas is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Campsas - La Mairie.jpg, Town hall Campsas - Monument aux Morts.jpg, War memorial The commune hosts a large production centre of Liebherr Ae ...

Canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...

, Dieupentale, Fabas, Grisolles, Labastide-Saint-Pierre,

Montbartier Montbartier (; oc, Montbartièr) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Montbartier station has rail connections to Toulouse, Montauban and Brive-la-Gaillarde. Monument Montbartier - L'é ...

, Nohic, Orgueil et Pompignan

Wineries

Wineries include Domaine Roumagnac, Château Cransac, Château Joliet, Domaine Saint Guilhem, Domaine le Roc, Château Saint Louis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaillac Aoc South West France AOCs

History

Wines

Production

Wineries

See also

References