Terroir 1996 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Delimitation of Saint-Bris AOC: example of reasonning delimitation criteria from production customs

Delimitation of Saint-Bris AOC: example of reasonning delimitation criteria from production customs

Abstract

La définition de l’Appellation d’Origine précise que les caractères du produit doivent être dus au milieu géographique, celui-ci intégrant des facteurs naturels et humains. Lors de la délimitation d’une Appellation d’Origine, il faut donc intégrer les facteurs humains (usages de production) préalablement au travail de terrain proprement dit, qui, lui, s’appuie sur les caractères du milieu naturel : les critères techniques appliqués pour la délimitation découlent directement de l’analyse des facteurs humains (type de produit consacré par l’usage, itinéraire technologique, contexte agronomique et sociologique).
Le déroulement de la délimitation de l’AOC Saint-Bris illustre ce cheminement : à partir d’un produit à l’identité et aux caractères reconnus, l’intégration des différents éléments du contexte humain amenèrent à définir une aire de production particulière pour un vignoble septentrional. Le passage d’AOVDQS en AOC du Sauvignon de Saint-Bris s’est accompagné d’un resserrement de l’aire de production sur le village de Saint-Bris, où sont pratiquement rassemblés les producteurs, et de la délimitation d’une zone de production de raisin éliminant les situations les plus précoces (exposition sud), répondant ainsi au désir des vignerons de produire un vin frais et minéral, sans caractères de surmaturité.

The definition of Appellation of Origin clarifies that the characters of the product must be issued from geographical environment, including natural and human factors. In order to delimitate an Appellation of Origin, we have to integrate human factors (production customs) beforehand the work on land which is based on factors from natural environment : technical criteria applied for delimitation directly issue from analysis of these human factors (characteristics of the product, technological process, agronomie and sociological context). The unfolding of the delimitation of Saint-Bris AOC illustrates this progress: from a product with defined identity and characteristics, the integration of the various elements of the human context brought to define a peculiar area of production for a northerly vineyard. The passage of “Sauvignon de Saint-Bris ” from AOVDQS to AOC came along with a contraction of the area of production on the village of Saint-Bris, where live almost all the producers, and the delimitation of a zone of production of grape eliminating the most premature situations (southward exposure), answering so the desire of the wine growers to produce a fresh and mineral wine, without characters of over-ripeness.

DOI:

Publication date: February 16, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2002

Type: Article

Authors

Eric VINCENT

INAO, 53, rue de Mulhouse, 21000 DIJON, France

Contact the author

Keywords

 Appellation d’origine, AOC, délimitation, Saint-Bris, usages, vin, sauvignon
Appellation of Origin, AOC, délimitation, Saint-Bris, customs, wine, sauvignon

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2002

Citation

Related articles…

Building of a hierarchy of wines based on terroirs: an initiative from the producers of Muscadet

The Muscadet area is situated in the southeast of Nantes, close to the Atlantic coast. It constitutes the western extension
of the French vineyard “Loire Valley”. The Muscadet is renowned and often spontaneously linked to a white wine.
However it remains misconceived as an ordinary wine, lacking authenticity.

How the physical components of the terroir can differently intervene in French wines DPO definitions.Example of Côte de Nuits in Burgundy

European regulations describe what elements must be given in the specifications of DPO determination ; mainly production conditions, links between quality and products characteristics and the physical traits of the production area. These elements are given in the “link to terroir” paragraph relating natural and human factors, detailed product characteristics linked to the geographical area and at last interactions between product originality and the geographical area.

Vignobles sur les pentes en Bourgogne : l’aube d’un nouveau modèle de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge

La découverte d’une vigne gallo-romaine en plaine à Gevrey-Chambertin (Côte-d’Or) constitue un point important pour la compréhension de la construction des terroirs viticoles de Bourgogne. Sa situation en plaine constitue pour nous le point de départ d’une large réflexion sur la mise en place du modèle de viticulture de coteau qui prévaut en Bourgogne et sur les facteurs de ce changement de norme de qualité viticole. Les sources mobilisées pour cette approche interdisciplinaire et diachronique sont géomorphologiques, archéologiques et textuelles.

Everything else, it’s work ”Socio-cultural dimensions of terroir among Bordeaux winemakers

In 2010, the OIV adopted a resolution that defines ‘terroir’. The OIV definition understands terroir as the result of the interactions between the physical specificities of a space and human labor, with an emphasis on the subsequently produced collective knowledge (OIV-VITI 333-2010); by doing so, it alludes to the social and cultural dimensions of terroir.

Swiss program for the creation of fungal disease resistant grape varieties in Switzerland

Grapevine breeding is part of the research program of Agroscope in Switzerland since 1965. From 1965 to 1995, the aim of the Vitis vinifera crosses was to obtain a high resistance to grey rot (Botrytis cinerea), one of the most virulent fungal pathogens in the Swiss vineyard. In 2021, the grape varieties released from this first breeding program covered 936 ha of the 15’000 ha of the Swiss vineyard.
In 1996, a second breeding program aimed at obtaining, by classical interspecific hybridization, grape varieties resistant to downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) and powdery mildew (Erisyphe necator) and less sensitive to grey rot (Botrytis cinerea). In order to accelerate and make the selection process more reliable, an early biochemical test was developed based on the natural defense mechanisms of the vine against downy mildew (stilbene phytoalexins). The synthesis of stilbenes (i.e., resveratrol and its oxidized dimers - and -viniférine) and pterostilbenes (methylated derivative) is among the most efficient induced defense mechanisms of grapevine against fungal pathogens on both the leaves and the clusters.