Monthly Archives: May 2024

Dispatch from La Livinière

  By admin | May 29, 2024 - 5:01 pm | ,
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Photo via: www.cru-la-liviniere.com

Photo via: www.cru-la-liviniere.com

News flash for wine students: The French wine region of Minervois—La Livinière (an appellation located in the Languedoc area of France) has changed its name to La Livinière AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée). This change was recently approved by the EU and announced via publication in the Official Journal of the European Union in March of 2024.

The Minervois AOC—located in the western Languedoc just north of Corbières—was approved in 1985 and produces a range of wine styles including red, white, and rosé.  For about ten years after the approval of the Minervois AOC, the producers of La Livinière—a small area located on the far north edge of the Minervois appellation—sought to carve out a more specific AOC for their wines. In 1999, they were successful, and the Minervois—La Livinière AOC was approved as a separate AOC approved for red wine only. Now, with the name change, the producers of La Livinière AOC seek to forge an identity of their own.

The specifications for the wines of the La Livinière AOC are as follows:

  • Map of La Livinière via: www.cru-la-liviniere.com

    Map of La Livinière via: www.cru-la-liviniere.com

    Red wines only

  • The requirements surrounding allowed grape varieites are somewhat elaborate, and include the following:
    • Minimum of 40% (combined) Mourvèdre and Syrah
    • Minimum of 60% (combined) Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache,and/or Lladoner Pelut—these are known as the cépages principaux est supérieure (principal and superior varieties)
    • The remainder of the blend may include the following accessory varieties (cépages accessoires): Carignan, Cinsault, Terret Noir, Rivairenc, and/or Piquepoul Noir
    •  The blend must consist of a minimum of two varieties
    • Minimum potential alcohol: 12.5%
  • The wines must be dry—a maximum of 3 g/L of residual sugar is allowed; this is raised to 4 g/L if the alcohol content in above 14%
  • Wines may not be released until November 1 of the year following the harvest

The area surrounds the town of La Livinière and lies just south of the Montagne Noire (Montanha Negra or Black Mountain—a mountain range at the southwestern edge of the Massif Central. One of the main distinguishing features of La Livinière is its soil, composed of alluvial deposits (sand, clay, and gravel) atop limestone—a giant slab of limestone known as the Causse de Minerve.

References/for more information:

Post authored by Jane A. Nickles…your blog administrator: jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

Welcome to the world, Upper Cumberland AVA!

  By admin | May 20, 2024 - 8:40 am | ,
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Base map via the TTB AVA Explorer (click to enlarge)

Base map via the TTB AVA Explorer (click to enlarge)

On May 15 (2024), the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) of the United States announced the approval of the Upper Cumberland American Viticultural Area (AVA). The new AVA covers an area within Middle Tennessee. The newly approved AVA is not located within, nor does it contain, any other viticultural areas.

The Upper Cumberland AVA is the first AVA to be located entirely within the state of Tennessee. However, portions of two previously approved appellations are located within the state. These include the Appalachian High Country AVA (shared between Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia) and the Mississippi Delta AVA (shared between Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana).

According to the original petition, the distinguishing features of the Upper Cumberland AVA include its elevation, soils, and climate—as described below.

Base map via the TTB AVA Explorer (click to enlarge)

Base map via the TTB AVA Explorer (click to enlarge)

Elevation: The Upper Cumberland AVA extends across the north-central portion of Tennessee. The AVA encompasses the western portion of the Cumberland Plateau, the Eastern Highland Ridge, and the eastern portion of the Outer Central Basin. The center portion of the AVA—located on a cuesta (ridge) known as the Eastern Highland Rim—contains elevations ranging from 600 to 1,000 feet above sea level (asl). In the eastern portion of the AVA (perched atop the Cumberland Plateau), the elevation ranges from 1,500 to asl. Elevations in the Inner Central Basin region (in the western portion of the AVA) fall somewhere between the other two areas, resulting from the erosion of an ancient uplift once known as the Nashville Dome. The average elevation of commercial vineyards in the Upper Cumberland AVA is 1,000 feet asl.

Soils: Limestone bedrock underlies most of the Upper Cumberland AVA. Topsoil is composed of alluvial and loess particulates composed primarily of shale, sand, and gravel.

Climate: The area within the Upper Cumberland AVA is slightly cooler than the surrounding areas (mainly due to elevation). The average growing season within the new AVA is 212 days with an average temperature of 67.5°F. The average annual precipitation is 50 inches.

The Upper Cumberland AVA stretches for over 50 miles covers a large area totaling 2,186,689 acres. At present, there are 55 commercial vineyards, 9 bonded wineries, and a total of 71 acres of vines within the region. Upper Cumberland Wineries include Chestnut Hill Winery, Del Monaco Winery, and Stonehaus Winery. The area is currently planted to an eclectic range of grapes, including vinifera, muscadine, and hybrid varieties.

When the Upper Cumberland AVA is brought into force—on June 14, 2024—the total number of AVAs in the United States will be 273.

Welcome to the world, Upper Cumberland AVA!

References/for more information:

Post authored by Jane A. Nickles…your blog administrator: jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

Dispatch from Boutenac

  By admin | May 3, 2024 - 1:10 pm | ,
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Vineyard and Pavlov Hills, the local name is PalavaNewsflash from the Languedoc: The Corbières-Boutenac AOC has changed its name and will now be known as the Boutenac AOC. The wine producers of the Boutenac area submitted a proposal to change the name of the appellation back in September of 2022, and as of March 14, 2024, the EU has approved the modification.

To understand the Boutenac region, we need to first look at the larger, surrounding Corbières AOC. For starters, Corbières is one of the largest appellations in the Languedoc (along with Minervois) in terms of overall size, vineyard plantings, and production volume. A prodigious producer of red (rogue), white (blanc) and rosé wine, Corbières was granted it initial AOC designation in 1985. Since that time, the appellation has been updated several times; many changes involved its elaborate list of allowed grape varieties and the composition thereof. Others broke the large region into a bit more geographic specificity, and in 2005, the Boutenac region was spun-off into its own AOC, originally known as the Corbières-Boutenac AOC.

The Boutenac area—centered around the tiny town of Boutenac and located atop an elevated ridge of limestone about 30 kilometers/20 miles inland from the Mediterranean coast—consists of well-drained, low-nutrient soils. As wine lovers know, when these two features combine, they can produce some of the finest vineyard terroirs—and wine grapes—in the world.

Boutenac MapAs such, Boutenac has always enjoyed a reputation for high-quality wine. Additionally, it produces red wine only (as opposed to the extensive list of grapes and wine in play in the larger Corbières appellation). These factors are part of the ongoing efforts to seek out a separate identity for the Boutenac AOC apart from the larger Corbières appellation.

  • The red wines of the Boutenac AOC are produced under the following regulations:
    • Dry, still (non-sparkling), red wines are the only wines allowed for production
    • It must be comprised of a minimum of 70% (combined) Carignan, Grenache (Noir), Mourvèdre, and Syrah.
    • In addition, Carignan must comprise a minimum of 30% of the blend, and no single variety may comprise more than 80% of the overall blend.
    • The wine must be aged (at least) until December 31 of th year following harvest to include at least two months in the bottle.

The red wines of the Boutenac AOC are described (in the cahier des charges) as being powerful and generous on the palate and having a red deep color with violet highlights as well as notes of spice and mature fruit.

We can’t wait to try Boutenac AOC!

References/for more information:

 Post authored by Jane A. Nickles…your blog administrator: jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org