Saint-Pourçain is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

(AOC) for wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 located around Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule

Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule

Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule is a commune in the Allier department in central France.-Geography:The commune is located north of Vichy and south of Moulins on the Route nationale 9....

 in the Auvergne

Auvergne (région)

Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...

 region of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It can alternatively be considered as an upstream satellite of the Loire wine region

Loire Valley (wine)

The Loire Valley wine region includes the French wine regions situated along the Loire River from the Muscadet region near the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast to the region of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. In between are the regions of...

 or as a tiny wine region in its own right. White, rosé and red wines are produced on vineyards covering 600 hectares (1,482.6 acre) in 19 communes of Auvergne.

History

Saint-Pourçain was created as a VDQS

VDQS

Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure , usually abbreviated as VDQS, is the second highest category of French wine, below Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in rank, but above Vin de pays . VDQS is sometimes written as AOVDQS, with AO standing for Appellation d'Origine...

 in 1951. In 1982, the name of the VDQS was shortened from Vins de Saint-Pourçain sur Sioule to Saint-Pourçain. It was elevated to AOC status in 2009.

Grape varieties

For white wines, Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Sacy

Sacy (grape)

Sacy is a white wine grape grown primarily in the central and northeastern France within the Yonne and Allier départments.Sacy ripens early, and produces light-coloured wines low in acid and alcohol.-Parentage:...

 (under the local synonym Tressallier) are the main grape varieties, with Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

 as an accessory variety.

For red wines, Gamay

Gamay

Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century...

 and Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

are used. For rosé wines, only Gamay is used.