The Coteaux-du-Giennois AOC is located in the Centre-Loire sub-region. The 200 hectare VineyardLies on two distinct soils separated by the "Cosne fault". To the North, the soils are composed of clay, silica and sometimes limestone, they are located in the area from Briare to Gien. To the South, the vineyards are located on white earth and clots, with siliceous deposits in places.
To claim their Coteaux-du-Giennois appellation, the wines must be made from the Sauvignon grape variety for the whites, and from a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir for the reds and rosés. The proximity of the Loire River offers a mild Climate, even if some late frosts sometimes occur in the spring. 8,100 hectoliters are produced annually if we combine the three types of wines. The characteristics of each of the Coteaux-du-Giennois are difficult to define because these wines present very varied gustatory nuances according to their soil and their situation.
By 1965, the vineyards of Condrieu had largely been abandoned – phylloxera and two world wars had decimated the place and its people. There were just 8ha of vines remaining on these granite slopes. If it weren’t for the hard work of a few steadfast vignerons, the appellation might have disappeared entirely, reclaimed by the forest. Thankfully, Condrieu survived and has since flourished – but great appellations have been lost before. We know this because some have recently been rediscovered. In f ...
The creation of an Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho dos Açores (IVVA), with headquarters in the island of Pico, follows the remarkable qualitative growth that the Archipelago of the Azores’ wine industry has been experiencing over the past decade. ‘People are excited about growing fruit and making wine here. There are about 300 growers producing their own fruit and a lot of small “garage” producers are starting. Some of them have worked and trained with us and are now making very interesting wines, ...
Following a recent modification of EU rules, member states are now allowed to employ resistant varieties in the production of wines with protected denominations of origin (PDO). The decision, published last week in the Official Journal of the European Union, is part of a wider revision of previous regulations that established common quality schemes, organisation of the market, definitions, descriptions, presentations, and labelling of European agricultural products and foodstuffs. Before the ann ...
