Bergerac wine
Encyclopedia
The Bergerac wine
-growing region is a subregion of South West France
, is located around the town of Bergerac
in the Dordogne
department, and comprises 93 communes. Its boundaries correspond more or less with those of the Arrondissement of Bergerac
and it is located immediately east of the Bordeaux wine
region. 1,200 wine-growers cultivate an area of 12000 hectares (29,652.6 acre). The Bergerac area contains 13 Appellations d'origine contrôlées
(AOCs) for red, white (dry, medium-sweet and sweet), and rosé wines.
The vineyards extend across the southern part of the Dordogne department, the Arrondissement (urban district) of Bergerac. Bergerac soil also features excellent drainage as a result of its proximity to the Dordogne River
.
Approximately fifteen percent of Bergerac AOC wine is sold outside of France, mainly to Great Britain, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
. Vines occupied a rapidly expanding place in the local economy, the River Dordogne helped to promote the wine trade along its navigable sections. The fall of the Roman Empire
had few adverse effects on wine-growing, since the Visigoths, who became the country's new masters, were great wine drinkers.
The arrival of the Saracens and the subsequent Viking raids dealt a severe blow to wine-growing. The Muslims ordered the uprooting of all vines and this, combined with the threat of danger from the northern invaders, caused communities to withdraw into themselves and killed off all trade.
The Bergerac area has produced wines since the thirteenth century, and has exported wines since 1254, when it began shipping its vintages to England based on special privileges granted by Henry III of England. These dispensations gave the Bergerac community the right to assembly, special tax exemptions and the right to ship their wines to Bordeaux unhindered. By the fourteenth century, Bergerac had strictly defined quality standards for its wine growing areas. Despite Bergerac's special privileges, during this period, Bordeaux was known to use its position, downriver and near the mouth of the Garonne river, to give its own wines priority over barrels of Bergerac wines being transported on freight carrying "gabarres" (river barges). However, the Parlement of Guyenne granted Bergerac a charter to transport freely its wines to the Atlantic in 1511. By that time, the Protestant-dominated Bergerac was also trading with Holland and Scandinavia via an overland route.
was an area in which Calvinism
prospered. When the Wars of Religion broke out, many Protestants
emigrated, in particular to Holland. Their attachment to their own regional produce meant that the popularity of Bergerac wines soared. The wine-growers decided to change their strategy and concentrate on producing dry white and sweet dessert wines, which were sought by this market.
In the 20th century, when the boundaries of the Bordeaux wine-growing area were being drawn up, it was decided they should match those of the Gironde
department. Bergerac wines, which had long been sold under the generic name, Bordeaux, had to forge a new and separate identity overnight. The Libourne merchants who had traditionally sold these wines, now gave priority to wines with a Bordeaux label before even attempting to find a market for their other wines.
" (the baggy trousers worn by the Gaul
s).
The lacustrian calcareous
source rock of the south-eastern area produces brown soil containing calcareous pebbles. The soil varies in thickness.
To the north of the River Dordogne, the source rock contains sands and clay
s mixed with gravel
; the latter produce acid soils with a faded brown colour, while an accumulation of minerals deep below the surface create an impermeable sub-stratum known as "tran".
In the south-east, boulbènes formed from sands and washed out silt
s result in a crusting soil that is poor in nutrients.
To the west, calcareous source rock that was once marine, produces brown soil containing calcareous pebbles. These are the same soils as those found in the wine-growing areas of the east Gironde, such as Saint-Émilion
, Côtes de Castillon, Côtes de Franc.
During the Quaternary period, the River Dordogne deposited terraces of gravel alluvia
on both banks. These soils are acidic and not particularly fertile, but they offer good drainage.
The Bergerac climate is temperate oceanic
. Precipitation is evenly spread throughout the period when the vines are producing new growth. April is humid, which boosts vine growth and helps to prevent disastrous spring frosts. The summers are warm and relatively dry, ideal conditions for the ripening of grape clusters. Over four consecutive months, from May to August, the area enjoys more than 200 hours of sunshine a month. It is this sunshine which supplies the necessary energy for photosynthesis
. September and October are critical months in determining the production of great vintage wines. Dry weather in September concentrates the grape aromas, while moderate humidity in October promotes the development of noble rot
, vital for the creation of great dessert wines. The November and December rains replenish the soil's water reserves.
, Cabernet Franc
and Merlot
, sometimes supplemented by Côt
or, less commonly, by Fer Servadou or Mérille
. They are often dark in colour, with full-bodied flavours.
The white wines are mainly a blend of Sémillon
with Sauvignon Blanc
, Sauvignon Gris
and Muscadelle
, to which Ugni Blanc, Ondenc
and Chenin Blanc
are sometimes added. These combinations lead to the creation of fruity, dry white wines that can be powerful, and of medium-sweet or sweet wines that are aromatic and powerful.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
-growing region is a subregion of South West France
South West France (wine region)
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...
, is located around the town of Bergerac
Bergerac, Dordogne
Bergerac is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Dordogne department in southwestern France.-Population:-Economy:The region is primarily known for wine and tobacco...
in the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
department, and comprises 93 communes. Its boundaries correspond more or less with those of the Arrondissement of Bergerac
Arrondissement of Bergerac
The arrondissement of Bergerac is an arrondissement of France, located in the Dordogne department, in the Aquitaine region. It has 14 cantons and 159 communes.-Cantons:The cantons of the arrondissement of Bergerac are:# Beaumont-du-Périgord...
and it is located immediately east of the Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
region. 1,200 wine-growers cultivate an area of 12000 hectares (29,652.6 acre). The Bergerac area contains 13 Appellations d'origine contrôlées
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
(AOCs) for red, white (dry, medium-sweet and sweet), and rosé wines.
The vineyards extend across the southern part of the Dordogne department, the Arrondissement (urban district) of Bergerac. Bergerac soil also features excellent drainage as a result of its proximity to the Dordogne River
Dordogne River
The Dordogne is a river in south-central and southwest France.-Name:Contrary to appearances, the name of the Dordogne is not a recent word resulting from the names of the Dore and the Dogne...
.
Approximately fifteen percent of Bergerac AOC wine is sold outside of France, mainly to Great Britain, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
History
As in the neighbouring wine-growing area of Bordeaux, the cultivation of vines began in this recently created country district of Bergeracois with the arrival of the RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. Vines occupied a rapidly expanding place in the local economy, the River Dordogne helped to promote the wine trade along its navigable sections. The fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
had few adverse effects on wine-growing, since the Visigoths, who became the country's new masters, were great wine drinkers.
The arrival of the Saracens and the subsequent Viking raids dealt a severe blow to wine-growing. The Muslims ordered the uprooting of all vines and this, combined with the threat of danger from the northern invaders, caused communities to withdraw into themselves and killed off all trade.
The Bergerac area has produced wines since the thirteenth century, and has exported wines since 1254, when it began shipping its vintages to England based on special privileges granted by Henry III of England. These dispensations gave the Bergerac community the right to assembly, special tax exemptions and the right to ship their wines to Bordeaux unhindered. By the fourteenth century, Bergerac had strictly defined quality standards for its wine growing areas. Despite Bergerac's special privileges, during this period, Bordeaux was known to use its position, downriver and near the mouth of the Garonne river, to give its own wines priority over barrels of Bergerac wines being transported on freight carrying "gabarres" (river barges). However, the Parlement of Guyenne granted Bergerac a charter to transport freely its wines to the Atlantic in 1511. By that time, the Protestant-dominated Bergerac was also trading with Holland and Scandinavia via an overland route.
Renaissance to modern day
The south-western province of La GuyenneGuyenne
Guyenne or Guienne , , ; Occitan Guiana ) is a vaguely defined historic region of south-western France. The Province of Guyenne, sometimes called the Province of Guyenne and Gascony, was a large province of pre-revolutionary France....
was an area in which Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
prospered. When the Wars of Religion broke out, many Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
emigrated, in particular to Holland. Their attachment to their own regional produce meant that the popularity of Bergerac wines soared. The wine-growers decided to change their strategy and concentrate on producing dry white and sweet dessert wines, which were sought by this market.
In the 20th century, when the boundaries of the Bordeaux wine-growing area were being drawn up, it was decided they should match those of the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
department. Bergerac wines, which had long been sold under the generic name, Bordeaux, had to forge a new and separate identity overnight. The Libourne merchants who had traditionally sold these wines, now gave priority to wines with a Bordeaux label before even attempting to find a market for their other wines.
Etymology
The name Bergerac apparently comes from the word "Bragayrac", which is derived from the Gallic word "braca", meaning "manufacturer of breechesBreeches
Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...
" (the baggy trousers worn by the Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
s).
Soil composition and geology
The nature of the soils mirrors the extent of the wine-growing area.The lacustrian calcareous
Calcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
source rock of the south-eastern area produces brown soil containing calcareous pebbles. The soil varies in thickness.
To the north of the River Dordogne, the source rock contains sands and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
s mixed with gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
; the latter produce acid soils with a faded brown colour, while an accumulation of minerals deep below the surface create an impermeable sub-stratum known as "tran".
In the south-east, boulbènes formed from sands and washed out silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
s result in a crusting soil that is poor in nutrients.
To the west, calcareous source rock that was once marine, produces brown soil containing calcareous pebbles. These are the same soils as those found in the wine-growing areas of the east Gironde, such as Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion AOC
Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne...
, Côtes de Castillon, Côtes de Franc.
During the Quaternary period, the River Dordogne deposited terraces of gravel alluvia
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
on both banks. These soils are acidic and not particularly fertile, but they offer good drainage.
Climate
The number of days with rainfall is 116, while fine weather days number 196, of which 123 enjoy small amounts of sunshine and 73 strong sunshine.The Bergerac climate is temperate oceanic
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
. Precipitation is evenly spread throughout the period when the vines are producing new growth. April is humid, which boosts vine growth and helps to prevent disastrous spring frosts. The summers are warm and relatively dry, ideal conditions for the ripening of grape clusters. Over four consecutive months, from May to August, the area enjoys more than 200 hours of sunshine a month. It is this sunshine which supplies the necessary energy for photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
. September and October are critical months in determining the production of great vintage wines. Dry weather in September concentrates the grape aromas, while moderate humidity in October promotes the development of noble rot
Noble rot
Noble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes...
, vital for the creation of great dessert wines. The November and December rains replenish the soil's water reserves.
Grape varieties
The red wines are a blend of Cabernet SauvignonCabernet 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 Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, Cabernet Franc
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...
and Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, sometimes supplemented by Côt
COT
-Beds:* A camp bed, a simple, temporary and portable bed* A baby's infant bed* See cot side for beds with raised sides-Transportation:* Car of Tomorrow, a new car design by NASCAR* Cottingley railway station, National Rail station code COT...
or, less commonly, by Fer Servadou or Mérille
Merille
Merille is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Garonne of South West France. It is a common grape in table wine....
. They are often dark in colour, with full-bodied flavours.
The white wines are mainly a blend of Sémillon
Sémillon
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia.-History:The origin of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent...
with Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
, Sauvignon Gris
Sauvignon gris
Sauvignon gris is pink color wine grape that is a clonal mutation of Sauvignon blanc. The grape is primarily found in Bordeaux and Chile, where it was imported with Sauvignon blanc and Sauvignon vert cuttings. The grape produces less aromatic wines and is often use for blending....
and Muscadelle
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....
, to which Ugni Blanc, Ondenc
Ondenc
Ondenc is a white French wine grape found predominantly in the Gaillac region of southwest France. In the 19th century, it was a popular planting in Bordeaux but fell out of favor following the phylloxera epidemic due to poor yields and sensitive to grape disease, though is still one of the seven...
and Chenin Blanc
Chenin Blanc
Chenin blanc , is a white wine grape variety from the Loire valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make everything from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled...
are sometimes added. These combinations lead to the creation of fruity, dry white wines that can be powerful, and of medium-sweet or sweet wines that are aromatic and powerful.
Appellations
- Bergerac AOC: dry white wines, rosé wines and red wines. These are wines that can be enjoyed young (from two years old).
- Côtes de Bergerac AOC: mellow, soft red wines that can be stored. They only reach their prime after several years' storage in the wine cellar.
- Montravel AOC: dry white wines and red wines.
- Haut-Montravel AOC: sweet white wines.
- Côtes de Montravel AOC: sweet white wines.
- Monbazillac AOCMonbazillac AOCMonbazillac is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for sweet white wine produced in the village of Monbazillac on the left bank of the Dordogne River just across from the town of Bergerac in South West France. The appellation covers almost of vineyards.The AOC of Monbazillac was first established...
: white dessert wines that can be stored for a long time. - Pécharmant AOC: red wines. These are wines suitable for medium-term storage.
- Rosette AOC: sweet white wines. This appellation, which is the smallest within the wine-growing area, produces little-known wines that are medium-sweet to sweet.
- Saussignac AOCSaussignac AOCSaussignac is a wine appellation in South West France. The Saussignac AOC is used exclusively for a sweet white dessert wine, similar to Monbazillac but a little drier. The grapes used are generally Sémillon grapes which have been affected by Botrytis cinerea...
: white dessert wines that can be stored medium to long-term.
External links
- http://www.vins-bergerac.fr
- http://www.pays-de-bergerac.com/english/pages/wine/index.asp
- http://www.route-des-vins-de-bergerac.com