Jump to content

User:Basilics/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gascony wine regions

Gascony wine region(s) and vineyards are situated between the Gironde (a department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, that includes the Bordeaux wine regions) and the Garonne on its northern side, the Pyrenees mountains at its southern side, and the gulf of Gascony (Atlantic Ocean).

Thus, Gascony wine regions (Gascony is a former duchy or province: in French language, Gascogne; in gascon dialect(s), Gascougne or Gascounhe; in occitan language, Gasconha) cover wine-producing areas close to, as a way of transport, either Garonne in its northern part, or areas (including Béarn and the Northern Basque Country) close to Adour, in its southern part.


'The wine trade with Gascony: (Frank Sargent)', in Finance and Trade Under Edward III the London Lay Subsidy of 1332, ed. George Unwin (Manchester, 1918), pp. 256-311. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/manchester-uni/london-lay-subsidy/1332/pp256-311 (accessed 11 August 2022) Sargent, Frank (1918). "The wine trade with Gascony". In George Unwin (ed.). Finance and Trade Under Edward III the London Lay Subsidy of 1332. Manchester University Press. pp. 256–311. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/manchester-uni/london-lay-subsidy/1332/pp256-311 Gascony wine (Wines of Gascony)

The brandy-producing region Armagnac is situated within Gascony and the wine region of South West France, and some of its grapes are used to make Vin de Pays under the designation Vin de Pays de Côtes de Gascogne or mixed with Armagnac to produce the mistelle Floc de Gascogne. 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. Finally, in the areas closest to the Pyrenees, wines are made from local varieties, such as Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng.


Geography

[edit]

The Gascony wine regions comprise several terroirs located in two new administrative and large french regions: Nouvelle-Aquitaine (former Aquitaine, includes Bordeaux), and Occitanie region (fusion of former Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon, includes Toulouse).

The Gascony wine regions and vineyard areas are considered as the southwestern part of the larger South West France (wine region). Gascony and South West France (wine region) share an (Atlantic) oceanic climate, whereas Languedoc-Roussillon wine (eastern part of Occitanie region) share a mediterranean climate.


History

[edit]

Antiquity

[edit]

The south-west region was first cultivated by the Romans and had a flourishing wine trade long before the Bordeaux area was planted.

Middle ages

[edit]

The wine trade between Gascony and England was important as early as ? 1100-1450[1]

Gascony wines at their peak were shipped from the port city of Bordeaux, wines from the "High Country" would descend via the tributaries of the Dordogne and Garonne to be sent to markets along the Atlantic coast.[2]. Also from Adour river.

Modern times

[edit]

The trade with Netherlands via Adour and the port of Bayonne favored, in the 17th and 18th century, the development of vignobles voisins du fleuve, in Gascony and its pyrenean piedmont, and also celui de la distillation (mentionnée en Gascony as early as the 14th[3] century) at the origin of Armagnac.

Geography of the vineyards

[edit]

Hydrography

[edit]

On the northern part of Gascony, its vineyards extend close to the (median) Garonne, upstream of Gironde ; on its more southwestern part, Gascony includes the Adour river. Both Garonne and Adour rivers were used for wine transport from their close respective wine-producing areas, including Béarn and the French Basque Country for Adour.

On the other hand, South West France vineyards from Dordogne/Bergerac subregion are not in Gascony but from another (more northern) part of the Garonne, Dordogne rivers drainage basin.

Land (soil) and climate

[edit]

In most Gascony, south of Garonne, the rivers have transported alluvial from the Pyrenees, whereas north to the Garonne river, they come from the Massif Central

Appellations in Gascony

[edit]

Thus, Gascony appellations are present both an area part of the Garonne basin, and the Adour basin area.

Common grape varieties

[edit]

Gascony wine region is a less heterogeneous region than South West France in terms of its wines and grape varieties, however they are marketed in a similar way. Gascony wines (excepted for coteaux-de-Gascogne) are rarely sold as Vins de Gascogne : the individual appellations and their smaller areas market their wines under their own AOC, as for Vins du Sud-Ouest in general, rather than using common practice as in e.g. the Bordeaux region.

Differences between Gascony and Bordeaux wines Further south, wines are still rather similar to those of Bordeaux, but several grape varieties not used in Bordeaux are common, such as Tannat. Finally, in the areas closest to the Pyrenees, wines are made from local varieties, such as Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng.

Northern Gascogne subregion

[edit]

The appellations Buzet AOC and Brulhois AOC, located both in this northern region of Gascony, are close to the left (south) side of Garonne used, up to the XIXth century, for wine transport to the port of Bordeaux. They are thus also wines of the median Garonne[4] subregion, to which also belong : Côtes de Duras and Côtes du Marmandais.

Armagnac (central Gascony) subregion

[edit]

Near the center of Gascony, the appellation Armagnac (AOC since 1936) is a brandy covering three terroirs[5] :

Armagnac is a brandy made from white wine from Gascony with a protected designation of origin. In the departments of Gers, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne, about 15,000 hectares of vineyards are approved for the production of Armagnac. Unlike Cognac, Armagnac is Armagnac : Armagnac-Ténarèze, Bas-Armagnac, Haut-Armagnac. Floc de Gascogne. Côtes de Gascogne The brandy-producing region Armagnac is situated within Gascony and the wine region of South West France, and some of its grapes are used to make Vin de Pays under the designation Vin de Pays de Côtes de Gascogne or mixed with Armagnac to produce the vin de liqueur named Floc de Gascogne.

Armagnac

[edit]

Pyrenean piedmont

[edit]

Around the Adour river

[edit]

Several appellations[4] are found :

  • Tursan, (VDQS) south of Adour (Landes et Gers). Vins (rouge, rosé et blanc) classés AOC depuis 2011[6]. Sols de molasse calcaire.
  • Saint-Mont, (VDQS) (Saint-Mont wine) south-west of Gers. Vins (rouge, rosé et blanc) classés AOC depuis 2011[7]. Sols de marnes calcaires.

Madiran wine (Redirected from Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh) terroir is mainly in Bearn, also Bigorre, Gers

Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh are in Gascony, in the sense that the terroir is in communes (mainly) of Bearn and (also) of Bigorre and at the south-west of the Armagnac.

The history of present gascon vineyards Madiran and Saint-Mont, ancrée au Middle Ages, a été retracée depuis la Renaissance[9].

Bearnese pyrenean piedmont

[edit]

Bearnese pyrenean piedmont[4]

  • Jurançon AOC, located between the gave de Pau and the gave d'Oloron. Vin blanc classé AOC depuis 1936[10] (doux) et 1975 (sec). Sols argilo-calcaires et argilo-silicieux.
  • Béarn AOC, sur les terrasses du gave de Pau autour de Bellocq. Le Béarn rosé peut aussi être produit dans l'aire de Madiran, les Béarn rouge ou rosé dans l'aire de Jurançon. Vins (rouge, rosé et blanc) classés AOC depuis 1975, l'appellation Béarn-Bellocq est AOC depuis 1991.

Basque country pyrenean piedmont

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sargent, Frank (1918). "The wine trade with Gascony". In George Unwin (ed.). Finance and Trade Under Edward III the London Lay Subsidy of 1332. Manchester University Press. pp. 256–311.
  2. ^ H. Johnson & J. Robinson The World Atlas of Wine pg 112-115 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 ISBN 1-84000-332-4
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference GHV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference VSO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Rico Rizzitelli (30 March 2018). "Armagnac : l'ode à l'eau-de-vie". Libération (in French).
  6. ^ "Décret n° 2011-1366 du 24 octobre 2011 relatif à l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Tursan »". Journal officiel de la République française (in French). 2011-10-27.
  7. ^ "Décret n° 2011-1454 du 4 novembre 2011 relatif à l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Saint-Mont". Journal officiel de la République française (in French). 2011-11-08.
  8. ^ a b "Décret du 10 juillet 1948. Délimitation de l'aire de production des vins d'appellation « madiran » et « pacherenc-du-vic-bilh »". Journal officiel de la République française (in French). 14 July 1948. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. ^ Pech, Rémy (2011). "Une synthèse magistrale sur l'histoire d'un vignoble gascon : Madiran et Saint-Mont" [A synthesis on the history of a gascon vineyard : Madiran and Saint-Mont]. Annales du Midi (in French).
  10. ^ INAO (2009-10-29). "Décret d'appellation du jurançon" (in French). légifrance.
  11. ^ "Décret du 6 mai 1995 relatif à l'appellation d'origine contrôlée " Irouléguy "". Journal officiel de la République française (in French). 7 May 1995.

See also

[edit]

Gascony (disambiguation)

[edit]

Category:South West France AOCs Category:Wine regions of France

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Basilics/sandbox&oldid=1237994615"