Picardy Wine Region
Worth Tasting Wines from Picardy
Picardy region, which is located in the northern part of the country, is covering an area of about 19,400 square kilometers.
With the capital city of Amiens, this region has a total population of 1,908,000. When it comes to wines, Picardy is not a favourite place for the wine lovers.
But, when you take a closer look at the history of Picardy, we can understand that this region has a long-time connection with wine grape cultivation and wine production.
In the recent times, the viticulture has started to revive in Picardy through several recreational vineyards.
Here, let’s have a look at the viticulture and winemaking in this French region…
Picardy as a French Wine Region
At present, this region is not an official wine region of the country. This is a historical territory and was an administrative French region in the past.
Since the start of the year 2016, this has become a part of the new region called Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie.
Currently, this region has three departments which are namely
· Aisne
· Oise
· Somme
The Picardy region of France is more popular for the range of ciders, calvados, beers, and eau de vie.
Viticulture in Picardy
As many as 40 villages of Picardy to the south of ‘Aisne’ department is now a part of the world-famous wine region Champagne.
Although Picardy as such is not famous as a wine region of France, I would say that we can find some good wines in Picardy that are worth tasting!
Moreover, in an attempt to revive the viticulture in this region, several recreational vineyards were created in the past two decades.
The following ones are noteworthy among the recreational vineyards of Picardy:
· Coucy le Château
· Gerberoy
· Gouvieux
· Clairoix
Picardy’s Vineyards for Champagne
As mentioned above, the region’s vineyards are part of the Champagne wine region and this has made Champagne as the main wine of Picardy.
The region is accounting for almost 15% of the country’s Champagne production. It is to be noted that the production of Champagne wine in Picardy of France has been permitted by a law since the year 1936.
As per the law, the following communes in the Aisne department are producing Champagne in Picardy region:
· Condé en Brie
· Château-Thierry
· Charly
· Soissons
· Vailly
As some of you might be aware, the Champagne will be produced from the following grape varietals by strictly following the French wine appellations:
· Chardonnay
· Pinot Meunier
· Pinot Noir
Types of Champagne from Picardy
- Blanc de blanc from ‘Chardonnay’
- Blanc de noir from ‘Pinot Meunier’ or ‘Pinot Noir’
- Rosé Champagne, a blend of red and white
Of these, the Blanc de blanc wine is known for its finesse while the Blanc de noir is popular for its power and fruitiness and the third type is found to be a popular combination for red meats.
The ‘Champagne Picard’ AOC for the production of top-class Champagne wines in Picardy is covering a total area of 2,827 hectares of vineyard area in the southern parts of Aisne department and is producing almost 215,000 hectolitres of wine each year.
Other Wines from Picardy
Apart from Champagne, you can also find some other medieval wines in Picardy.
The Hypocras is one such wine which is basically a red wine melt with the ingredients like honey, cinnamon, and others.
The Saugette is another medieval wine from Picardy which is a white wine in combination with honey again.
This would also contain sage. The Claret is also a medieval wine and is generally taken as a ‘dessert wine’.
This is a white wine melt with cinnamon and some other secret ingredients.
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Tharani Rajamanickam
Winewriter
I am Tharani, I have Bachelors degree in Biotechnology. I am passionate about the wine industry and continue to explore, learn and share and I bring in a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you keep updated with best wines in the world. Stay tuned..
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