2011

Guide to the wine regions of

the Poitou-Charentes, France
Tourist attractions, holidays and things to do and see in the
Poitou-Charentes
So, why choose the Poitou-Charentes for a holiday? Well first of all, as well as lots of things to do
and fabulous tourist attractions, there’s the climate. The region is south of the Loire Valley and parts of the
Poitou-Charentes are reckoned to have the most sunshine hours a year in France outside of the
Mediterranean.

The summers are generally quite long,

warm and sunny, though you can expect
a few rainy days too, while the autumns
are usually clear and bright. The winters
can get cold the further inland you go,
but they don’t last long, and you can
often expect a warm spell in March or
even February.

Another great reason is the food and

wine in the Poitou-Charentes. It’s not
only home to cognac, but also the underrated aperitif pineau and some excellent local wine - especially
from the Haut-Poitou area in the north of the region close to the Loire Valley.

The region is equally and rightly noted for its great local delicacies too – for example cheese, honey,
poultry, butter and snails – as well as fine restaurants, hotels, cafes and bars.

Then there is the sheer variety of things to do and see in the Poitou-Charentes, such as leisure
parks, golf and beautiful towns and villages. It’s divided into four departments – the Charente, Charente-
Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and the Vienne – and each has its own charms, character and tourist attractions.

Red, white and rosé wine from the Poitou-Charentes -

definitely worth discovering!
It may come as a surprise that the Poitou-Charentes has wine - but it most certainly does!
And it doesn't just make for enjoyable drinking - why not visit a domaine to and meet the producers who
are making their mark not just locally, but increasingly throughout
France.

To see why wines from the Poitou-Charentes - red, white and How to use this guide
rosé - are doing well, you only have consider a little geography.
Look at the map, cast your eyes north of Poitiers and you’ll see Simply click on the title of the
that this part of the region of winemakers is right next door to attraction that interests you and
Saumur, the Touraine and the Anjou. Given that sunshine, soil you will be taken to the relevant
type and topography are no great respecters of human page on our website where you
boundaries, it's not surprising that parts of the Poitou-Charentes can find all the details you
require to make the most of your
region – notably the north of the Vienne and Deux-Sèvres -
visit.
produce some excellent wines. So which wine-producing areas
and names should you look out for? Here's our guide to get you

www.Discover-Poitou-Charentes.com
started on your way...

Vins du Haut-Poitou (just north of Poitiers): the largest of

the north Poitou-Charentes wine areas has a history of vineyards
going back to Roman times - in the Middle Ages it was one of the
Top tip...
best-known wine areas in this part of France. Today it is known
for its fine white wines but also produces many excellent reds Trying to decide what to buy?
too. In 2010 these were awarded AOC label status, with the According to wine experts the
2011 vintage the first that will be bearing the AOC label. reds from the Charente and
Charente-Maritime are noted for
Vins de Thouarsais (slightly further north and west, being ‘elegant’ and ‘robust’, the
based around Thouars): a small wine producing area in the rosés are reputed for their
Deux-Sèvres department. It is noted for its excellent whites, ‘delicacy’, while the whites are
though it produces some fine cabernet and gamay reds too. said to be dry, light and ‘subtly
perfumed’.
Vins de Saumur, nord Vienne (an area in the Vienne
department in Poitou-Charentes but only just south of
Saumur): another wine growing area with a long history, it
produces some red wines good enough to have been the favourite of the great former prime minister and
First World War leader Georges ‘The Tiger’ Clémenceau. However it is best known for its white wines
and specially its sparkling wines, which many consider a good (and cheaper) alternative to champagne.

Vins d’Anjou, Deux-Sèvres (again, just in Poitou-Charentes but just south of Angers or the
Anjou wine area): just 14 communes in the Deux-Sèvres have the right to use the label ‘Anjou’. Its
winemakers produce red, white and rosé wines.

While the above might be the most prestigious Poitou-Charentes wines - because of the Haut-Poitou,
Saumur and Anjou names – they are certainly not the only good wines produced in the region. Indeed the
wines known as the Vins de Pays Charentais - www.vindepayscharentais.fr - meaning wine from the
Charente and Charente-Maritime are very popular with people who know their way around a vineyard and
conceal some hidden treasures.

Much of the wine production in this area – and the two Charentes have 4,500 hectares of vines - takes
place along the borders of these two departments, between Aulnay to the north, down past Cognac and
Saintes to Jonzac further south. However, the wine producing areas do stretch much further. The Île de Ré
and the Île d’Oléron off the Atlantic coast both produce wine, and vineyards continue almost as far as the
beach resort of Royan.

www.Discover-Poitou-Charentes.com
Perhaps more surprisingly, some of the best Charentais wine can be found further inland, north-east of
Angoulême at a place called Saint-Sornin. Here the local wine cooperative turns out some excellent reds
and whites, their unusual marketing using themes taken from another of the area’s attractions – prehistoric
remains.

One of the delights of locals wines such as these is that one can chance upon a great producer in the most
quiet and out of the way spots. And if you’re lucky you might get asked into a winemaker’s home for a
tasting!

And as there are around 90 registered producers of Charentais wine, there are plenty to choose from…

For more information see www.vinspoitoucharentes.com

Words: Michael STREETER – AMM France

Photographs: © Jörg Jahn - Fotolia.com; lynnlin - Shutterstock; Roger Moss - SARL Roger Moss

www.Discover-Poitou-Charentes.com