| Wine region | |
 | |
| Official name | Sud-Ouest |
|---|---|
| Type | Region |
| Country | France |
| Sub-regions | Dordogne river areas,Garonne river areas,Gascony,Basque Country |
| Size of planted vineyards | 16,000 ha |
South West France, or inFrenchSud-Ouest, is awine region inFrance covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region ofBordeaux.[1] These areas, which have a total of 16,000hectares (40,000acres) of vineyards, consist of several discontinuous wine "islands" throughout theAquitaine region (where Bordeaux region itself is situated), and more or less to the west of theMidi-Pyrénées region.
Thus, South West France covers both the upstream areas around the riversDordogne andGaronne (which also flow through Bordeaux where they combine to form theGironde estuary) and their tributaries, as well as the wine-producing areas ofGascony includingBéarn, and theNorthern Basque Country. However, only areas closer to theAtlantic than to theMediterranean are included in the region, with the city ofToulouse being situated roughly halfway between the South West wine region and theLanguedoc-Roussillon wine region on the Mediterranean.
The brandy-producing regionArmagnac is situated within Gascony and the wine region of South West France, and some of itsgrapes are used to makeVin de Pays under the designationVin de Pays deCôtes de Gascogne or mixed with Armagnac to produce the mistelleFloc 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 asVins 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 asTannat. Finally, in the areas closest to thePyrenees, wines are made from local varieties, such asGros Manseng andPetit Manseng.
The south-west region was first cultivated by theRomans and had a flourishing wine trade long before the Bordeaux area was planted. As the port city ofBordeaux became established, wines from the "High Country" would descend via thetributaries of the Dordogne and Garonne to be sent to markets along theAtlantic coast.[2] The climate of the inland region was generally warmer and more favorable than in Bordeaux, allowing the grapes to beharvested earlier and the wines to be of a stronger alcohol level. Many Bordeaux wine merchants saw the wines of the "High Country" as a threat to their economic interest and during the 13th & 14th century a set of codes, known as thepolice des vins, were established which regulated the use of the port of Bordeaux for wine trading. Thepolice des vins stated that no wine could be traded out of Bordeaux until the majority of Bordelais wine had already been sold. This had a devastating effect on the wine industry of the High Country with barrels of wines being stranded at Bordeaux warehouses for several weeks or months before they could be sold at much lower prices due to that year's market already being saturated with wine. In many years anothervintage would actually take place before the "High Country" wines were sold.[3]
South West France includes the followingAppellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) andVin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) designations.
Gascony lands are close to the Adour river, Béarn and Basque lands are closer to the Pyrenees
The following grape varieties are commonly found in at least one sub-region or appellation of South West France.
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