Pécharmant

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A bottle of Pecharmant BouteillePecharmant.jpg
A bottle of Pécharmant

Pécharmant is a wine appellation (Appellation d'origine contrôlée, AOC) for certain wines produced in the hills to the North-East of the market town of Bergerac, France. With a surface area of 400 hectares the communes of Bergerac, Creysse and Lembras produce nearly 15 000 hectolitres of the red wine. Pécharmant is the best known of the Dordogne region wines and has been classified AOC since 1936. The identification "Pécharmant" dates from 1946 and new AOC since March 13, 1992.

Wine alcoholic drink made from grapes

Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine. These variations result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the terroir, and the production process. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine. These typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production. Wines not made from grapes include rice wine and fruit wines such as plum, cherry, pomegranate, currant and elderberry.

<i>Appellation dorigine contrôlée</i> French protected geographic appellation

The appellation d'origine contrôlée 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 des appellations d'origine, now called Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO). It is based on the concept of terroir.

Bergerac, Dordogne Subprefecture and commune in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Bergerac is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Dordogne department in southwestern France.

Contents

History

First produced in the eleventh century, Pécharmant is the oldest collective of vineyards in the region of Bergerac. "Pécharmant" comes from the words "Pech" ( "Hill") and "Charmant" (Charming), thus meaning "the charming hill." Pécharmant vineyards are well exposed to the sun and the soil consists sand and gravel from the Périgord, and containing a deep layer of ferruginous clay called "Tran."

Grapes and wine style

Pécharmant is a blend of four grape varieties, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. [1] These varieties produce a wine suitable for holding from four to ten years, typically tannic and full-bodied, ruby colored with fruity aromas, that can be served with game, Périgord charcuterie, confits, duck, red meats and strong cheeses. The land used for growing Pécharmant was previously used to grow grapes for producing Rosette, a delicate white wine produced in the Bergerac region.

Merlot dark blue-colored variety of wine-making grape

Merlot is a dark blue-colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.

Cabernet Sauvignon red-wine variety of grape

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 Sauvignon became internationally recognized through its prominence in Bordeaux wines where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From France, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California's Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Napa Valley, New Zealand's Hawkes Bay, Australia's Margaret River and Coonawarra regions, and Chile's Maipo Valley and Colchagua. For most of the 20th century, it was the world's most widely planted premium red wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990s. However, by 2015, Cabernet Sauvignon had once again become the most widely planted wine grape, with a total of 341000ha under vine worldwide.

Cabernet Franc grapevine that yields black grapes used for wine

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. In addition to being used in blends and produced as a varietal in Canada and the United States, it is sometimes made into ice wine in those regions.

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Malbec wine varietal

Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. The French plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in South West France. It is increasingly celebrated as an Argentine varietal wine and is being grown around the world.

Rhône wine

The Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône valley and produces numerous wines under various Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designations. The region's major appellation in production volume is Côtes du Rhône AOC.

Bordeaux wine Wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France

A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France. Bordeaux is centered on the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde and covering the whole area of the Gironde department,with a total vineyard area of over 120,000 hectares, making it the largest wine growing area in 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. The vast majority of wine produced in Bordeaux is red, with sweet white wines, dry whites, and rosé and sparkling wines collectively making up the remainder. Bordeaux wine is made by more than 8,500 producers or châteaux. There are 54 appellations of Bordeaux wine.

French wine

French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to the 6th century BC, with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced range from expensive wines sold internationally to modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines were during the post war period.

Languedoc-Roussillon wine

Languedoc-Roussillon wine, including the vin de pays labeled Vin de Pays d'Oc, is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century has primarily referred to the northern part of the Languedoc-Roussillon région of France, an area which spans the Mediterranean coastline from the French border with Spain to the region of Provence. The area has around 700,000 acres (2,800 km2) under vines and is the single biggest wine-producing region in the world, being responsible for more than a third of France's total wine production. In 2001, the region produced more wine than the United States.

Gros Verdot is a red French wine grape variety that was a historically important grape in the Gironde wine region of Bordeaux but plantings of the variety have been banned in the region since 1946 with the grape no longer being a permitted variety in any AOC Bordeaux wines.

Ontario wine

Ontario wine is Canadian wine produced in the province of Ontario that is certified by VQA Ontario. Wines made from 100% Ontario grapes can qualify for classification under Ontario's appellation system, the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), and must be certified by the provincial wine authority to use the descriptor "Ontario wine" and other regulated labelling terms. VQA regulates production standards including grape varietals, wine-making techniques employed, and other requirements and ensures label integrity for consumers. This has raised some issues with certain wineries that do not meet the VQA standard or are not eligible because they use Ontario grown winter-hardy hybrid grapes that are not recognized by VQA despite lobbying attempts to update their list of acceptable grape varieties.

Limoux wine

Limoux wine is produced around the city of Limoux in Languedoc in southwestern France. Limoux wine is produced under four Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designations: Blanquette de Limoux, Blanquette méthode ancestrale, Crémant de Limoux and Limoux, the first three of which are sparkling wines and dominate the production around Limoux. The main grape of the region is the Mauzac, locally known as Blanquette, followed by Chardonnay and Chenin blanc. In 2005, the Limoux AOC was created to include red wine production consisting of mostly Merlot. Wine historians believe that the world's first sparkling wine was produced in this region in 1531, by the monks at the abbey in Saint-Hilaire.

Bordeaux wine regions wine growing areas in France

The wine regions of Bordeaux are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole area of the Gironde department of Aquitaine.

Regional Bordeaux AOCs

In the Bordeaux wine region there are seven regional Appellations d'origine contrôlée (AOCs) that may be used throughout the Gironde department. These are Bordeaux Rouge AOC, Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge, Bordeaux Clairet, Bordeaux Rosé, Bordeaux Blanc, a dry white, Bordeaux Supérieur Blanc, a sweet white, and Crémant de Bordeaux, a sparkling méthode traditionnelle wine. The regional appellations together form the largest world-class wine vineyard, making up more than half of the production of the prestigious Bordeaux wine region, and representing more than 55% of all Bordeaux wines consumed in the world.

Provence wine

Provence (Provençal) wine comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area provincia nostra, giving the region its name. Just south of the Alps, it was the first Roman province outside Italy.

South West France (wine region) French 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. These areas, which have a total of 16,000 hectares of vineyards, consist of several discontinuous wine "islands" throughout the Aquitaine region, and more or less to the west of the Midi-Pyrénées region.

Madiran wine

Madiran wine is produced around the village of Madiran in Gascony under two Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées (AOCs): Madiran for red wines and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec for white wines. The production area for Madiran wine is spread over three départments – Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques – and is a part of the South West France wine region. There are 1,300 hectares of Madiran vineyards.

Anjou wine appellation dorigine contrôlée

Anjou wine is produced in the Loire Valley wine region of France near the city of Angers. The wines of region are often grouped together with the wines of nearby Saumur as "Anjou-Saumur". Along with the wines produced further east in Touraine, Anjou-Saumur make what is collectively known as the "Middle Loire" (as opposed to the "Upper Loire" which includes the wine regions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Within the Anjou wine region are several Appellation d'origine contrôlées responsible for a broad spectrum of wines including still red, white and rosé produced with varying levels of sweetness. Extending across the Deux-Sèvres, Maine-et-Loire and Vienne départements, the generic Anjou AOC appellation and its various sub-appellations encompasses vineyards across more than 151 communes.

Bergerac wine French wine subregion of South West France

The Bergerac wine-growing region, a subregion of South West France around the town of Bergerac in the Dordogne department, comprises 93 communes. Its boundaries correspond more or less with those of the Arrondissement of Bergerac, immediately east of the Bordeaux wine region. 1,200 wine-growers cultivate an area of 12,000 hectares. The Bergerac area contains 13 Appellations d'origine contrôlées (AOCs) for red, white and rosé wines.

Béarn AOC

Béarn is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for wine in South West France. It is located in the area of intersection of three French departments: Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées and Gers; and two regions: Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées. Some vineyards in the area of the Jurançon AOC can also produce red Béarn wine, and some in the area of the Madiran AOC may produce a rosé Béarn. Wines made in the village of Bellocq also carry the appellation Béarn-Bellocq.

Montagne-Saint-Émilion AOC

Montagne-Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne. It was granted AOC status on 14 November 1936, and the AOC designation granted to the wines which have been harvested on the land of the Montagne commune or in its hamlets, Parsac and Saint-Georges. 1,570 hectares of vine planted areas have belonged to the appellation in 2005, with a production of 74,130 hl.

Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion AOC

Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne. It was granted AOC status on 14 November 1936, and the AOC designation granted to the wines which have been harvested on the land of the Puisseguin commune. 753 hectares of vine planted areas have belonged to the appellation in 2005, with a production of 34,648 hl.

Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion AOC

Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne. It was granted AOC status on 14 November 1936, and the AOC designation granted to the wines which have been harvested on the land of the Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion hamlet, which is part of Montagne commune. 192 hectares of vine planted areas belonged to the appellation in 2005, with a production of 9,333 hl.

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