South West France, or in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

''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 ar ...

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 prefecture ...

.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

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s) 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 Januar ...

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 are ...

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 named ...

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 – a ...

(which also flow through Bordeaux where they combine to form the

Gironde estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; french: estuaire de la Gironde, ; oc, estuari de aGironda, ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Ga ...

) and their tributaries, as well as the wine-producing areas of

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part ...

including

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three B ...

, and the

Northern Basque Country The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country ( eu, Iparralde (), french: Pays basque, es, País Vasco francés) is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitu ...

. 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 and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

are included in the region, with the city of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

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, traditionall ...

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 ...

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 con ...

. 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, Braz ...

. 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 o ...

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 letter ...

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 drainage ...

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 The police des vins were a set of codes and business practices set up in the 13th and 14th century that govern the wine trade within the region of Bordeaux and the use of its port by neighboring areas. The codes were aimed at giving Bordeaux wine a ...

'', 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 cer ...

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 bo ...

(AOC) and

Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure Vin délimité de qualité supérieure ("delimited wine of superior quality"), usually abbreviated as VDQS, was the second highest category of French wine, below '' appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) in rank, but above '' vin de pays'' (co ...

( 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 ea ...

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

Monbazillac AOC Monbazillac is an '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) for sweet white wine produced in the village of Monbazillac on the left bank of the Dordogne just across from the town of Bergerac in South West France. The appellation covers almos ...

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 ea ...

Pécharmant AOC Pécharmant is a wine appellation (Appellation d'origine contrôlée, AOC) for certain wines produced in the hills to the North-East of the market town of Bergerac, France. With a surface area of 400 hectares, the communes of Bergerac, Creysse, a ...

Rosette AOC The Bergerac wine-growing region, a subregion of South West France (wine region), South West France around the town of Bergerac, Dordogne, Bergerac in the Dordogne department, comprises 93 communes. Its boundaries correspond more or less with thos ...

* Saussignac AOC

Garonne subregion

Brulhois AOC South West France, or in French ''Sud-Ouest'', is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux.Buzet AOC *

Cahors AOC Cahors () is a red wine made from grapes grown in or around the town of Cahors in the Lot department of southern France. Cahors is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) (Controlled designation of origin) associated with part of the ...

* Côtes de Duras AOC * Côtes du Marmandais AOC *

Fronton AOC Fronton AOC is an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) for wine in South West France in the département of Haute-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne, located about 35 km north of Toulouse. History Fronton is an old wine production region wit ...

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 possibl ...

Marcillac AOC Marcillac is an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' for wine in South West France (wine region), South West France and is located 20 km to the north-west of Rodez in the Aveyron department. It is located close to the Lot river which flows ...

Coteaux du Quercy VDQS South West France, or in French ''Sud-Ouest'', is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux.Côtes de Millau VDQS South West France, or in French ''Sud-Ouest'', is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux.Saint-Sardos VDQS * Vins de Lavilledieu VDQS *

Vins d'Entraygues et du Fel VDQS South West France, or in French ''Sud-Ouest'', is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux.Vins d'Estaing VDQS South West France, or in French ''Sud-Ouest'', is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux.Madiran 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 for ...

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 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 for ...

Saint-Mont VDQS Saint-Mont (; oc-gsc, Sent Mont) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. Geography Population Saint-Mont wine Wines are produced under the VDQS designation Saint-Mont and the area's vineyards are part of the South W ...

* Tursan VDQS

Béarn subregion

Béarn AOC Béarn is an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) for wine in South West France. It is located in the area of intersection of three French departments: Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées and Gers; and two regions: Aquitaine and Midi ...

Jurançon AOC Jurançon is a wine region in South West France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, around the ''commune'' of Jurançon. It produces a dry white wine and a more sought after sweet white wine. The grape varieties used are Gros Manseng, Petit Mans ...

Basque Country subregion

Irouléguy AOC Irouléguy AOC wines ( eu, Irulegi, ) come from Lower Navarre in the Northern Basque Country, France and are usually considered as part of the wine region of South West France (''Sud-Ouest''). They are named after the village of Irouléguy and ar ...

Common grape varieties

The following grape varieties are commonly found in at least one sub-region or appellation of South West France. *

Abouriou Abouriou (French spelling of Occitan ''aboriu'', early) is a red French wine grape variety grown primarily in Southwest France and, in small quantities, California. It is a blending grape that, along with Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Fer, ...

Arrouya noir Arrouya noir is a red French wine grape variety grown in the Jurançon region of Southwest France. The grape has a long history in the region, growing in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques since at least the late 18th century. Ampelographers believe tha ...

Arrufiac Arrufiac (or Arrufiat) is a white French wine grape varietyArrufiac

Baco blanc Baco blanc or Baco 22A is a French-American hybrid grape variety. It is a cross of Folle blanche and the Noah grape, created in 1898 by the grape breeder François Baco. Folle blanche is its '' Vitis vinifera'' parent. Noah, its other parent, is ...

Bouchalès Bouchalès or Grapput is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in Bordeaux and Southwest France wine appellations. Plantings have declined in recent years as the vine has shown high sensitivity to downy mildew and black rot.J. ...

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 use ...

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 Leban ...

Clairette blanche Clairette blanche is a white wine grape variety most widely grown in the wine regions of Provence, Rhône and Languedoc in France. At the end of the 1990s, there were of Clairette blanche grown in France, although volumes are decreasing. Cla ...

Colombard Colombard (also known as French Colombard in North America) is a white French wine grape variety that is the offspring of Chenin blanc and Gouais blanc.winepros.com.au. This makes the grape the sibling of the Armagnac Meslier-Saint-Françoi ...

Courbu Courbu is the name of three different, but related varieties of wine grapes primarily found in South West France. All are ''Vitis vinifera'' grapes. The name Courbu, without suffix, can refer to both Petit Courbu and Courbu blanc, and not all sou ...

* Duras *

Fer 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) ...

* Folle blanche *

Jurançon Jurançon (; oc, Juranson) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. Population See also * Jurançon AOC, a wine from this commune *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The follow ...

Len de l'El Len de l'El (various spellings have been reported:Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin Sud-OuesLen de l'El B ou Loin de l'Oeil"'' (French). Accessed: 23 October 2011Oxford Companion to Wine'Gaillac entry"'' Accessed: 6 February 2011Ampélog ...

Malbec 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 n ...

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to t ...

Muscadelle Muscadelle is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an unide ...

Négrette Négrette is a dark red wine grape grown primarily in South West France in the region between Albi and Toulouse. Wine regions The principal appellation using this variety, Côtes du Frontonnais (red and rosé), requires that 50% to 70% of the ...

* Portugias bleu * Raffiat de Moncade *

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 ...

Sémillon Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC. History The Sémi ...

Ugni blanc Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

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