South West France, or in French ''Sud-Ouest'', is a

wine region This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of

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 prefect ...

.Terroir-France: South West Wine Information
accessed on February 23, 2008 These areas, which have a total of 16,000

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s (40,000 acres) of vineyards, consist of several discontinuous wine "islands" throughout the

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

region (where Bordeaux region itself is situated), and more or less to the west of the

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus or ; es, Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by ar ...

region. Thus, South West France covers both the upstream areas around the rivers

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

and

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

(which also flow through Bordeaux where they combine to form the Gironde estuary) and their tributaries, as well as the wine-producing areas of Gascony including Béarn, and the Northern Basque Country. However, only areas closer to the

Atlantic 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 an ...

than to 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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

are included in the region, with the city 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 Pa ...

being situated roughly halfway between the South West wine region and the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...

wine region on the Mediterranean. The brandy-producing region

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...

is situated within Gascony and the wine region of South West France, and some of its

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

are used to make

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 ...

under the designation ''Vin de Pays de

Côtes de Gascogne Côtes de Gascogne is a wine-growing district in Gascony producing principally white wine. It is mainly located in the Departments of France, département of the Gers in the former Midi-Pyrénées region (now part of the Occitanie region), and it ...

'' or mixed with Armagnac to produce the mistelle

Floc de Gascogne The Floc de Gascogne is a regional apéritif from the Côtes de Gascogne and Armagnac regions of Sud-Ouest wine region of France. It is a ''vin de liqueur'' fortified with armagnac, the local brandy. It has had '' Appellation d'origine contr� ...

. South West France is a rather heterogeneous region in terms of its wines and how they are marketed. It is rare to see wines being sold as ''Vins du Sud-Ouest''. Rather, the smaller areas and individual appellations market their wines under their own (smaller) umbrella, in contrast with common practice in e.g. the Bordeaux region. The areas closest to Bordeaux produce wines in a style similar to those of Bordeaux, and largely from the same grape varieties. Further south, wines are still rather similar to those of Bordeaux, but several grape varieties not used in Bordeaux are common, such as

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, Brazi ...

. Finally, in the areas closest to 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 ...

, wines are made from local varieties, such as

Gros Manseng Gros Manseng (sometimes translated: Large Manseng, rarely "Big Manseng") is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France, and is part of the Manseng family. It produces dry wines in the Jurançon and Béarn regions ...

and

Petit Manseng Petit Manseng (sometimes translated: Small Manseng, rarely "Little Manseng") is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France. It produces the highest quality wine of any grape in the Manseng family. The name is deriv ...

History

The south-west region was first cultivated by 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 ...

and had a flourishing wine trade long before the Bordeaux area was planted. As the port city of

became established, wines from the "High Country" would descend via the

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

of the Dordogne and Garonne to be sent to markets along the

coast.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 112-115 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 The climate of the inland region was generally warmer and more favorable than in Bordeaux, allowing the grapes to be harvested earlier and the wines to be of a stronger alcohol level. Many Bordeaux wine merchants saw the wines of the "High Country" as a threat to their economic interest and during the 13th & 14th century a set of codes, known as the '' police des vins'', were established which regulated the use of the port of Bordeaux for wine trading. The ''police des vins'' stated that no wine could be traded out of Bordeaux until the majority of Bordelais wine had already been sold. This had a devastating effect on the wine industry of the High Country with barrels of wines being stranded at Bordeaux warehouses for several weeks or months before they could be sold at much lower prices due to that year's market already being saturated with wine. In many years another

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 ...

would actually take place before the "High Country" wines were sold.H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 144 Simon and Schuster 1989

Appellations in South West France

South West France includes the following

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 bou ...

(AOC) and Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure ( VDQS) designations.

Dordogne/Bergerac, subregion

Bergerac AOC The Bergerac wine-growing region, a subregion of South West France around the town of Bergerac in the Dordogne department, comprises 93 communes. Its boundaries correspond more or less with those of the Arrondissement of Bergerac, immediately e ...

* Côtes de Duras AOC * Côtes de Montravel AOC * Haut-Montravel AOC * Monbazillac AOC *

Montravel AOC The Bergerac wine-growing region, a subregion of South West France around the town of Bergerac in the Dordogne department, comprises 93 communes. Its boundaries correspond more or less with those of the Arrondissement of Bergerac, immediately e ...

* Pécharmant AOC * Rosette AOC * Saussignac AOC

Garonne subregion

* Brulhois AOC * Buzet AOC * Cahors AOC * Côtes de Duras AOC * Côtes du Marmandais AOC * Fronton AOC *

Gaillac AOC Gaillac AOC is an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) in South West France in the département of Tarn, just north of Toulouse. History The region makes claims to be among the earliest viticultural centres of ancient Gaul, though possib ...

* Marcillac AOC * Coteaux du Quercy VDQS * Côtes de Millau VDQS * Saint-Sardos VDQS * Vins de Lavilledieu VDQS * Vins d'Entraygues et du Fel VDQS * Vins d'Estaing VDQS

Gascony subregion

* Madiran AOC *

Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh AOC Madiran wine is produced around the village of Madiran in Gascony under three '' Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées'' (AOCs): Madiran for red wines and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec for white wines. The production area fo ...

* Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec AOC * Saint-Mont VDQS *

Tursan VDQS Tursan, first a Vin délimité de qualité supérieure (VDQS) for wine in South West France since 1958 (decree of 11 July 1958, last modified 26 February 2003), has been granted AOC status in 2011. Presentation Its production zone covers potenti ...

Béarn subregion

* Béarn AOC * Jurançon AOC

Basque Country subregion

* Irouléguy AOC

Common grape varieties

The following grape varieties are commonly found in at least one sub-region or appellation of South West France. * Abouriou * Arrouya noir * Arrufiac * Baco blanc * Bouchalès * Cabernet Franc * Cabernet Sauvignon * Clairette blanche * Colombard * Courbu * Duras (grape), Duras * Fer * Folle blanche *

* Jurançon (grape), Jurançon * Len de l'El * Malbec * Merlot * Muscadelle * Négrette *

* Blauer Portugieser, Portugias bleu * Raffiat de Moncade * Sauvignon blanc * Sémillon *

* Ugni blanc

References

External links

Official website of the South West France wine organisation CIVSO
which covers the Garonne and Gascony subregions
Wine Tours In South West France
covering local grape varieties and regions such as Brulhois and Armagnac
South West France wines
Wine regions of France {{Portal bar, Wine, France