Ile de Beauté is the evocative PGI title given to wines that come from Corsica. The island is located in the Mediterranean Sea between the southeast coast of Provence and the west coast of Tuscany. Although the island is closer to Italy, it has been under French rule since 1764 and is one of the 27 regions of France. Corsica's Italian heritage is reflected in the island's wines, which are made primarily from Sangiovese (known here as Nielluccio) and Vermentino.
The IGP Île de Beauté allows for a Long list of grape varieties, including a mix of traditional Corsican, Spanish, French and Italian varieties. There are very few other wine regions in the world where you can find Nielluccio, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo and Barbarossa in the same Vineyard. Chardonnay, brought to Corsica by the French, is often blended with Vermentino in IGP wines. (See the wine lists in our database below for a larger picture).
White muscat is a white grape variety of Greek origin. Present in several Mediterranean vineyards, it has several synonyms such as muscat de Die, muscat blanc and frontignac. In France, it occupies a little less than 7,000 ha out of a total of 45,000 ha worldwide. Its young shoots are downy. Its youngest leaves are shiny, bronzed and scabrous. The berries and bunches of this variety are all medium-sized. The flesh of the berries is juicy, sweet and firm. Muscat à petits grains has a second ripening period and buds early in the year. It is moderately vigorous and must be pruned short. It likes poor, stony slopes. This variety is often exposed to spring frosts. It fears mildew, wasps, grape worms, court-noué, grey rot and powdery mildew. Muscat à petits grains is used to make rosé wines and dry white wines. Orange, brown sugar, barley sugar and raisins are the known aromas of these wines.
white wines from the region of Ile de Beaute go well with generally quite well with dishes of shellfish, vegetarian or pasta such as recipes of shrimp, coconut and ginger soup, spinach and goat cheese quiche or macaroni and cheese.
On the nose in the region of Ile de Beaute often reveals types of flavors of earth, tree fruit or citrus fruit and sometimes also flavors of spices, citrus or minerality. In the mouth in the region of Ile de Beaute is a with a nice freshness.
