LATITUDE
LONGITUDE
Welcome to Sauternes AOC, a special wine area in Bordeaux, France! These sweet white wines get their unique taste from something called noble rot (a good kind of mold that grows on grapes). Each year, they make about 33,000 hectoliters of wine, though this amount changes depending on the weather - that's part of what makes these wines so special!
Sauternes includes five towns: Sauternes, Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, and Preignac. All can use the Sauternes name (though Barsac can use its own name too). What makes this area unique is its special weather, which is perfect for growing grapes that will get noble rot, a fungus that is beneficial for the grapes, and making sweet wine.
People have been making wine here since the 1600s! In 1855, when Bordeaux ranked its best wines, one winery called Château d'Yquem was named the very best sweet winemaker. Even Thomas Jefferson loved these wines and helped make them famous around the world.
You'll find Sauternes 40 kilometres south of Bordeaux, between two rivers: the Garonne and the Ciron. These rivers create morning fog when the cold water of the Ciron meets the warmer Garonne. This fog helps noble rot grow on the grapes - it's like nature's own recipe for making sweet wine!
The vineyards sit between 3 and 80 meters above sea level. The weather is mild year-round, with warm summers and gentle winters - perfect for growing grapes and developing noble rot.
The soil here is a mix of gravel, pebbles, clay, and limestone. This mix helps water drain well while keeping enough moisture for the vines to grow healthy and strong.
Three main types of grapes grow here: Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. The warm weather helps the grapes ripen, while the morning fog helps noble rot grow, making the grapes extra sweet and flavorful.
Changing weather patterns make it harder to predict when noble rot will develop, which can affect how much wine they can make each year.
While many people today prefer dry wines, Sauternes remains special. More people are visiting wine regions and learning about these unique, sweet wines, which helps keep them popular.
Winemakers here are finding ways to protect the environment while still making great wine. They're mixing old wine-making traditions with new methods to keep making wines that people today will enjoy.
Vineyard Hectares
WINERIES
GROWING DEGREE DAYS
Within the breathtaking landscape of Sauternes, you will find gentle hills rising between 15 and 60 meters high, covered with rows and rows of grape vines. Over thousands of years, nature shaped this land to be perfect for making sweet wines. Scattered across this pretty landscape, you'll find five lovely towns: Sauternes, Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, and Preignac. Each one adds something special to make this wine region unique.
The maritime influence of the Atlantic Ocean bestows upon Sauternes a favourable viticultural climate characterized by warm summers and mild winters. However, nature presents its challenges: autumn frosts and devastating hailstorms can threaten both the vines and their yields.
What truly distinguishes Sauternes' microclimate is a remarkable autumn phenomenon. As the cool waters of the Ciron River converge with the warmer Garonne, a mysterious morning mist emerges. This delicate veil of fog creates ideal conditions for the development of noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), a beneficial fungus that concentrates the grapes' sugars and intensifies their aromatic complexity. It is this precise climatic alchemy that gives Sauternes wines their legendary character.
If you want to have the best experience when visiting Sauternes, the best times of the year are the harvest season and spring:
Despite not focusing on red wines like other regions of Bordeaux, in this special area something amazing happens: a helpful type of mold (called noble rot) grows on three types of grapes - Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. This mold turns them into incredible sweet wines, that are one of the reasons why visitors love Sauternes.
When you taste Sauternes wine, you'll find lots of different flavours! First, you might taste honey and apricot mixed with butterscotch, along with fresh citrus. Many people also find tropical fruit flavours like mango and pineapple. If you keep these wines for a few years, they develop new tastes like caramel, vanilla, and toasted nuts.
These wines are definitely sweet (they have 120 to 220 grams of residual sugar per litre), but they don't feel heavy or too sweet. That's because each grape adds something special: Sémillon makes it rich, Sauvignon Blanc keeps it fresh, and Muscadelle adds delicate floral aromas.
Sauternes has five main towns: Sauternes, Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, and Preignac. Each has beautiful vineyards and historic wine houses (called châteaux). The most famous is Château d'Yquem, known as the king of sweet white wine production, but places like Château La Tour Blanche, Château Roumieu (a family property), and Château de Rayne (which has the Grand Cru Classé status), are also very special.
You can visit these wine houses to see how they make their wines! During grape harvest, some places even let you help pick grapes - it's a great way to learn about winemaking. Most tours end with wine tasting, often with local snacks to try, too.
These wines taste great with many foods! They're perfect with foie gras (a rich duck liver dish) and strong cheeses like Roquefort and Stilton. They also go really well with desserts like apple tart (tarte Tatin), fruit pies, or fluffy soufflés made with orange liqueur. Surprisingly, they can even make regular dishes taste better!
If you want to stay within Sauternes, we have good news: you have great options! You can pick from cozy bed-and-breakfasts with vineyard views, nice small hotels, or even rooms in the wine houses themselves. Imagine waking up surrounded by grape vines - it's the best way to really experience everything Sauternes has to offer!
Let's meet the three special grapes that make Sauternes' famous sweet wines: Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. When noble rot grows on these grapes, they turn into amazing wines that people have loved for hundreds of years. Each grape adds something different to make these wines special.
Together, these three grapes work as a team to make the special sweet wines that make Sauternes famous!
Despite not focusing on red wines like other regions of Bordeaux, in this special area something amazing happens: a helpful type of mold (called noble rot) grows on three types of grapes - Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. This mold turns them into incredible sweet wines, that are one of the reasons why visitors love Sauternes.
When you taste Sauternes wine, you'll find lots of different flavours! First, you might taste honey and apricot mixed with butterscotch, along with fresh citrus. Many people also find tropical fruit flavours like mango and pineapple. If you keep these wines for a few years, they develop new tastes like caramel, vanilla, and toasted nuts.
These wines are definitely sweet (they have 120 to 220 grams of residual sugar per litre), but they don't feel heavy or too sweet. That's because each grape adds something special: Sémillon makes it rich, Sauvignon Blanc keeps it fresh, and Muscadelle adds delicate floral aromas.
Sauternes has five main towns: Sauternes, Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, and Preignac. Each has beautiful vineyards and historic wine houses (called châteaux). The most famous is Château d'Yquem, known as the king of sweet white wine production, but places like Château La Tour Blanche, Château Roumieu (a family property), and Château de Rayne (which has the Grand Cru Classé status), are also very special.
You can visit these wine houses to see how they make their wines! During grape harvest, some places even let you help pick grapes - it's a great way to learn about winemaking. Most tours end with wine tasting, often with local snacks to try, too.
These wines taste great with many foods! They're perfect with foie gras (a rich duck liver dish) and strong cheeses like Roquefort and Stilton. They also go really well with desserts like apple tart (tarte Tatin), fruit pies, or fluffy soufflés made with orange liqueur. Surprisingly, they can even make regular dishes taste better!
If you want to stay within Sauternes, we have good news: you have great options! You can pick from cozy bed-and-breakfasts with vineyard views, nice small hotels, or even rooms in the wine houses themselves. Imagine waking up surrounded by grape vines - it's the best way to really experience everything Sauternes has to offer!
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