The South West or 'Sud Ouest' is a relatively large region of France, incorporating the administrative regions of Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees. On the wine map the South West is a little less clear-cut, as Bordeaux - an obvious geographical part of the South West - is recognized as a wine region in its own right. Languedoc and Roussillon are also independent regions and not part of the south west of France.
There is a long and interesting history associated with the wines of the South West of France, dotted with complex relationships. The rivers of the area play an essential part in this history, as they were the main trade route which took wines from old wine-producing areas like Cahors, Bergerac, Buzet and Gaillac to their markets. The twist in these tales is that the last trading post before the lucrative markets in England was the port and wine-producing town of Bordeaux. The Bordelais businessmen rightly saw these wines as competition to their own and took strong measures to ensure their own financial security.
Politics, economics and history combine here to produce the French wine map that we know today, with Bordeaux brightly highlighted, and the remaining south western wine regions struggling for recognition for their diverse and characterful wines. This history is also explains why the Bordeaux grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc are now three of the most famous grape varieties in the world, while varieties of the traditional South West such as Fer Servadou, Len de l'el and Tannat are almost unheard of.
The soils, climates and topography of the South West wine region are as diverse as the wines produced there. The presence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea mean that much of the region has a maritime climate, but there are certainly inland areas which make use of the drier, hotter summers brought about by their more continental climate. Rivers such as the Garonne, Dordogne, Lot and Tarn bring alluvial soils types (clay, sand, gravel) to much of the region, while the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains and the plateaux below offer a variety of stone types and altitudes.
The diversity of wines produced in the South West of France is considerable. There are sweet wines from Jurancon, tannic full-blooded red wines from Cahors and Madiran, sparkling wines from Gaillac and dry white wines from a wide range of varieties from across the region.
The wine producers of south western France are becoming more commercially focused than in recent years, using the diversity of their wines to attract adventurous modern wine consumers. Although Bordeaux still casts a significant commercial shadow over the region, there is no longer a dependence on the port as a trade route, leaving the wines of the South West free to gain international recognition on their own merits.
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