SW France Quizes Flashcards
(111 cards)
1
Q
What borders SW France?
A
W - Atlantic
E - Massif Central
N - Bordeaux
S - Pyrenees
2
Q
What is the overall climate of South-West France?
A
Continental
3
Q
The majority of the South-West’s vineyards lie in the Aquitaine Basin. Some of the eastern vineyard areas are outside this. On which geographical feature do you find these vineyards?
A
Massif Central
4
Q
What was the name for the province in. SW France?
A
Gascony or Aquitaine
5
Q
What were English lands in France called?
A
Angevin Empire
6
Q
What was the old name for Dordogne?
A
Périgord
7
Q
What groups historically passed through SW France and why?
A
Pilgrims going to either
1. Lourdes or
2. Camino de Santiago in Spain
8
Q
Why did wine production stagnate in South-West in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?
A
- 2 World Wars
- Downy Mildew
- Phylloxera
9
Q
Top 3 production areas in SW France?
A
- Bergerac AOC - 22%
- Cahors AOC - 12%
- Gaillac AOC - 11%
9
Q
Historically which port was the main export hub for wines from the South-West?
A
Bordeaux
9
Q
What subregion are Cahors & Gaillac
A
Garonne, Tarn and Lot
10
Q
What subregion are Bergerac & Mobazillac?
A
Dordogne/Bergerac
11
Q
What subregion are Madiran & Jurançon?
A
Pyrenees
12
Q
Which of the three South-West sub-regions is the most spread out?
A
Garonne, Tarn and Lot
13
Q
What are the subregions of SW France?
A
- Dordogne / Bergerac
- Garonne, Tarn and Lot
- Pyrenees
14
Q
How many grapes are identified in SW France and how many are indigenous?
A
+300
120
15
Q
Where was CabFranc from what was it crossed with to make. which grape?
A
- Basque Country
- Magdeleine Noire des Charentes
- Created Merlot
16
Q
Prunelard X Magdeleine Noire
A
Côt or Malbec
Found in Cahors
17
Q
CabFrance X Gros Cabernet
A
Carmenère
18
Q
What is the principal grape of Madiran and where has it become popular?
A
Tannat - native
Uruguay
19
Q
What was a unique wine making advancement originating in SW France and by whom
A
Micro-Oxygenation
Patrick Ducournau 1991
20
Q
What does Micro-Oxygenation do?
A
Softens hard tannins in Tannat grape
21
Q
What is Mox or micro-bullage?
A
Micro-Oxygenation
22
Q
Why the need for Micro-Oxygenation?
A
Wooden vats swapped for stainless steel made wine making more reductive and tannins them overwhelmed
23
How does Micro-Oxygenation work?
Small bubbles helps with
1. fermentation to avoid stuck
2. softens tannins
3. clarifies and stabilizes
24
Both Merlot and Côt came about from crossings of two other grape varieties. They both have a parent in common – which grape variety is that?
Magdeleine Noire des Charentes
25
Soils of Dordogne/Bergerac
Mostly clay and limestone
25
Largest areas under vine in Dordogne/Bergerac
Bergerac AOC
Côtes de Bergerac AOC
26
Major grapes of Dordogne/Bergerac
1. White - SavBlanc, Sémillon
2. Rosé - Sav Gris
3. Red - CabSav, CabFranc, Merlot, Côt
27
Bergerac AOC
Dry white, rose and red
ALL WINES MUST BLEND ATLEAST 2 primary varieties >50%
28
Côtes de Bergerac AOC
Red - blend of 2 varieties
Semi-sweet and sweet white
Whites CANNOT BE DRY
29
Monbazillac AOC
LARGEST DESSERT WINE IN FRANCE
Sweet white & SGN wines
SavBlanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle
Gris - Sauvignon Gris
30
What is the largest producer of desert wines in France?
Monbazillac AOC
31
Saussignac AOC
Sweet white wines
Min 6.8%
SavBlanc, Semillon, Muscadelle
Gris - Sauv Gris
32
What are the main soils of Bergerac?
Clay and Limestone
33
Which river flows through Bergerac AOC?
Dordogne
34
Fronton AOC
Garonne, Tarn and Lot
NEGRETTE grape - all
Red/Rosé
wines need 40%
35
Gaillac AOC
Garonne, Tarn and Lot
W - Len de l'El / Loin de l'Oell,
Mauzac, Muscadelle
R - Duras, Syrah,
Fer Servadou
Rose - Mauzac Rose
36
Cahors AOC
Garonne, Tarn and Lot
Côt --> Auxerrois
ONLY RED
Limestone/gravelly slopes
37
Fronton AOC is primarily known for which grape variety?
Négrette
38
Which rivers flow either side of Fronton AOC?
Tarn and Garonne
39
What is Côt known is Cahors?
Auxerrois
40
What are the white grapes of the Pyrenees?
Gros Manseng - dry white
Petit Manseng - high sugar and acid --> sweet wines
41
Madiran AOC
Pyrenees
ONLY RED
Tannat - always 50%+
Pebble studded limestone clays with silt + iron
42
Pachenrenc du Vic-Bilh AOC
Pyrenees
Dry and sweet whites
Same area as MADIRAN
Dry wines have SEC on the label
all others are sweet
Gros Manseng
Petite Manseng
Courbu
Petit Courbu
MUST CONTAIN 2 grape varieties
43
What type of wine is Pachenrenc du Vic-Bilh Sec?
Dry white
Pyrenees
44
Jurançon AOC
Pyrenees
Dry white, semi-sweet, sweet and VT
SEC = Dry
Gros Manseng
Petit Manseng
Sandy clays with galets
45
What is a poudingues?
Galets named used in Jurançon AOC
46
What is the only French AOC in Basque country?
Irouléguy AOC
47
Irouléguy AOC
Pyrenees
ONLY BASQUE AOC
dry white, rose, red
W - Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Courbu, Petit Courbu
R - Cab Franc, Tannat, CabSav
Must have majority Tannat
48
Côtes de Gascogne IGP
Pyrenees
2nd LARGEST PRODUCER
Same area as Armagnac
75% Dry White Wines
49
Which Pyrenees AOC straddles the Nive River?
Irouléguy
50
Which two Pyrenees AOCs cover (almost) the same territory?
Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and Madiran
51
Which AOC is most associated with the Len de l'El grape variety?
Gaillac
52
What borders the South-West to the east?
The Massif Central
52
The Tarn river runs through which AOCs?
Gaillac
53
What is the 2nd largest IGP producer in France?
Côtes de Gascogne IGP
54
Which AOC surrounds the majority of Monbazillac AOC?
Bergerac
55
Where is Blanc Sec Perlé made?
Gaillac
56
What is the primary grape variety for red wines in Madiran AOC?
Tannat
57
Which river flows through Cahors?
Lot
58
Which South-West AOCs only make white wine?
Monbazillac AOC
Saussignac AOC
Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh AOC
59
Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh AOC
Dry and Sweet White
Gros Manseng
Petite Manseng
Courbu
60
Saussignac AOC
Sweet White Wine
SavBlanc Sémillon
61
Jurançon AOC
Dry to Sweet White Wine
Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng
62
Monbazillac
AOC
Sweet Wine
Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon
63
Climate
1. Dodogne/Bergerac
2. Pyrenees
3. Garonne, Tarn, Lot
1. Maritime
2. Maritime + Med
3. Maritime, Mountains Foehn Winds
64
What are Foehn Winds and where are they found?
Rain dumps on one side of the mountain and dry warm winds come down the other (Pyrenees and Vosges)
65
Which grape varieties are associated with sparkling wines in Gaillac AOC?
Mauzac
Len de l’El
66
67
Which South-West appellation produces wines in the widest range of styles?
Gaillac
68
What rivers run through
1. Bergerac
2. Cahors
3. Gaillac
4. Irouléguy
1. Dordogne
2. Lot
3. Tarn
4. Nive
69
In Jurançon, the sandy-clay soils are dotted with galets. What are they known as locally?
Poudingues
70
Sweet wines in Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh AOC are made by...
Passerillage - raisining on the vine to concentrate sugars
71
Pyrenees main grape
Gros Manseng
Petit Manseng
Tannat
72
Garonne, Tarn and Lot main grape
Len de l’El
Mauzac
Côt
Fer Servadou
Négrette
73
Dordogne/Bergerac main grape
Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
74
Cahors wines must contain at least what percent of the primary grape Côt?
70%
75
Cahors wines are primarily – often only – made from Côt. Which other grapes can also be in the blend?
Tannat
Merlot
76
Braucol and Pinenc are synonyms for which South-West grape variety?
Fer Servadou
77
Which two native South-West grape varieties have found success in New World vineyards?
Côt (Malbec) in Argentina and Tannat in Uruguay
77
Madiran wines must contain at least ___% Tannat.
50%
78
What is the origin of the term Gascony?
The Vascones, a pre-Roman tribe from which modern-day Basque culture originated
79
What borders South-West France to the north, east, south and west?
North is Bordeaux, east is the Massif Central, south is the Pyrenees and west is the Atlantic Ocean.
80
What is the most important IGP in South-West France?
Côtes de Gascogne IGP, second in production to Pays d'Oc IGP of Languedoc and Roussillon.
81
What was the most planted grape in South-West France before phylloxera?
Côt (Malbec)
82
Which sub-region of the South-West has Mediterranean climatic influences?
The Garonne, Tarn and Lot sub-region
83
What is “boulbène”?
Sandy clay soils found in the South-West AOCs of Fronton and Buzet.
84
What do Monbazillac, Saussignac and Rosette have in common?
They are AOCs in the Dordogne that make sweet or semi-sweet wines based on Sauvignon Blanc,
Sémillon and Muscadelle.
85
The sale of wines from South-West France was historically curtailed by which rival wine region?
Bordeaux
86
Which appellation makes red and rosé wines from Négrette?
Fronton AOC
87
Which appellation of South-West France may use the term SGN?
Monbazillac, if the wine contains R.S over 8.5% (85 g/l)
88
What is the “méthode gaillacoise”?
A term used in Gaillac to indicate a sparking wine made using the ancestral method.
89
What does Bergerac AOC produce?
Only dry white, red and rosè are authorized in this AOC.
90
Which South-West sub-region is affected by foehn winds?
The Pyrenees sub-region
91
What is “passerillage”?
The act of twisting the stalks of grape bunches in order to stop the flow of sap; this dessicates the grapes on the vine.
92
What is the largest dessert wine appellation by size and volume in France?
Monbazillac AOC
93
What are the two styles of sweet wines made in Gaillac?
Vendanges Tardives
and Doux
94
Madiran lies on the left bank of the ......
Ardour River.
95
South-West France claims to have how many indiginous grape varieties?
120
96
What are the three styles of sparkling wines made in Gaillac AOC?
Gaillac Méthode Ancestrale, traditional method and Blanc Sec Perlé
97
Describe the grape Len de L'El?
White Grape
98
What are blending partners for Côt in Cahors?
Tannat & Merlot
99
What is the local Jurançon name for galets (stones)?
Poudingues
100
What are the two primary red grapes of Irouléguy?
Tannat and
Cabernet Franc
101
What are the two most important grapes of Jurançon?
Petit Manseng
and Gros Manseng
102
What is the southern most AOC in SW France?
Irouléguy
103
Gaillac Primeur wines are made using what vinification technique?
Semi-carbonic maceration
104
What does “moelleux” refer to?
Semi-sweet wines made from late-harvest grapes with or without botrytis.
105
What does “liquoreux” refer to?
Sweet wines made from botrytized grapes.
106
What is “micro-oxygenation”?
A technique developed by Patrick Ducourau in Madiran to tame tannins. Minute amounts of oxygen are bubbled through must or wine.
