Wine
making in South West of France
South
West of France is the most diverse wine region in
France. It is also one of the oldest. Many grape
varieties grow only in this region: Tannat, Manseng,
Fer Servadou, Mérille and dozen of other varieties.
Wines
from the South-West have often been confused with Bordeaux wines,
which caused a lot of problems at the beginning of
the century when the area of Bordeaux production
was delimited.
The
history and the diversity result in unfashionable wines
with a lot of personality. Tannic full-body red wine
in Madiran,
sweet viscous of Monbazillac,
intense red Cahors or
aromatic dry Jurançon.
The wines from South West of France have plenty of
things to offer to any wine lovers.
The
main grapes in South West of France are Cabernet
Sauvignon, Tannat, Merlot and Malbec for red wine.
The main white grapes are Sémillon, Sauvignon,
Ugni Blanc and Manseng.
South
West of France wine making information :
| Size
of the vineyards: |
16,000
hectares (40,000 acres) |
| Vineyards: |
6,000
winemakers |
| Soil: |
Clay
Limestone
Pebbles (from the Pyrénées
mountains) |
| Weather: |
Oceanic
(cool and rainy winter and spring, warm summer,
sunny autumn) |
| Red
Grapes |
Cabernet
Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
Merlot
Tannat, Malbec |
| White
Grapes |
Sauvignon,
Sémillon
Ugni Blanc, Colombard
Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng
Muscadelle, Clairette |
| Production: |
270
million bottles
88%
red wine - 7% dry white
wine - 3% rosé - 2% sweet white wine
3% of French wine production |
| Type
of Wine: |
Full
body red wine: Madiran
Intense red wine: Cahors, Bergerac
Sweet viscous white wine: Monbazillac, Jurançon
Aromatic dry white wine: Jurançon (dry)
|
About
the South West wine region :
South
West wine information - South
West region information - South
West France wine map - Winemaking
in South West France - South
West wines and food - Buy
wine - South
West main page
Wines
from South West of France :
Cahors - Jurançon - Madiran - Bergerac - Monbazillac - Wines
from South West
Other french
wine regions : Alsace - Bordeaux - Burgundy - Champagne - Corsica - Côtes
du Rhône - Languedoc-Roussillon - Loire
Valley - Provence
|
|
