You have no items in your shopping cart.
Wine Poitou-Charentes
-
Top Selling
-
Top Selling
-
Top Selling
The Poitou-Charentes region is bordered to the west by Charentes' Atlantic coast, and to the north and south by 2 prestigious winegrowing areas, the Loire Valley and Aquitaine respectively. Today a large number of vineyards at the borders fall within the latter regions' appellations, such as Anjou wines in the north-west, Saumur in the north and Touraine in the north-east. However, winegrowing in Poitou-Charentes experienced a boom during the Middle Ages, and indeed the region produced wine in large quantities until the 18th century, ultimately achieving its first recognition in 1909 with the designation of Cognac as an appellation contrôlée (see Armagnac and Cognac region). Both Poitou and Charentes have sedimentary soil, with some limestone incursions in Charentes. The ocean climate that characterises the region is temperate, ensuring a constant mildness that encourages the vines' growth and the grapes' steady ripening. Apart from Cognac, the two Charentes regions achieved honour for their shared terroir by gaining another appellation contrôlee in 1945 for the well-known liqueur Pineau des Charentes, a full-bodied wine with delicious flavours of ripe fruit, honey and spices. Poitou's winegrowing, which lost its reputation with the passing decades, still survives in Haut-Poitou with the production of its little-known reds, rosés and (above all) whites. Officially designated VDQS (Vins Délimités de Qualité Supérieur), they nonetheless offer a fine palette of fruit flavours and lovely colours.
Winemakers
Listed 33 winemakers
Production
754 hectares
Area
Le vignoble représente une production d’environ 50 000 hectolitres
Soil and subsoil
Diorite
Grape variety
Reds and rosés : Cabernets, Gamay, Pinot Noir
Whites : Sauvignon, Chardonnay