Wine Regions

Clement V and subsequent "Avignon Popes" were said to be great lovers of wine and did much to promote it during the seventy-year duration of the Avignon Papacy. At the time, wine growing around the town of Avignon was anything but illustrious. While the Avignon Papacy did much to advance the notoriety of Burgundy wines, they were also promoting viticulture of the surrounding area, more specifically the area 5-10 km north of Avignon, close to the banks of the Rhône River.

Sonoma Valley has played a significant role in the history of California wine. The first vineyards in the valley were planted by Franciscan monks at Mission San Francisco Solano in 1823. In 1857, Agoston Haraszthy established one of California’s first successful commercial wineries here when he founded Buena Vista Winery. By 1920, there were 256 wineries in Sonoma Valley with more than 20,000 acres (81 km2) planted to grape vines.

The Margaux appellation encompasses the village of Margaux and the neighboring villages of Arsac, Labarde, Soussans and Cantenac. It is the most southerly of Médoc’s appellations. The commune makes almost entirely red wine, harvesting Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grapes, with only a small amount of white wine made. This region has the thinnest soil in the region with the highest proportion of gravel that allows the soil to drain very well. The wines from this area are very susceptible to the overall quality of the vintage year and the weather effects during the growing season and harvest.

Famous for producing some of the best Shiraz Australia has to offer, McLaren Vale is arguably one of the premier Shiraz-growing regions of the world. Shiraz is by far the most important variety for the region, accounting for about 50% of the total crush. The area’s thin soils, limited water, and warm summers harness Shiraz’s natural vigour and produce intense flavoured fruit, and wine with a deep purple colour that can last decades in the bottle.