Appellation: Pouilly-Fumé
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Situated just across the river from Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé is known for balanced, structured white wines. Sauvignon Blanc is also known locally as Blanc Fumé, for the grey, smoke-colored bloom that grows on the skins of Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
There have been vines planted on the hillsides of Pouilly-Fumé since the fifth century AD, although they were destroyed twice: in the late ninth century by a battle between King Charles the Bald and Lothaire, and a thousand years later by phylloxera. Until that time, most of the grapes grown in Pouilly-Fumé were of the Chasselas varietal, which were sent to Paris as table grapes. Once trains began to transport less expensive table grapes from other parts of France, the growers of Pouilly-Fumé turned to wine production and saw a bright future in the Sauvignon Blanc grape which is now the dominant varietal in the region.
The vines of Pouilly-Fumé are planted in mostly limestone, flint, and clay soils. Pouilly-Fumé generally requires a year to eighteen months aging in bottle, and will continue to age well after that. Fish, shellfish, and white meats are all excellent complements to the smoke and flint aromas for Pouilly-Fumé, whose structure and balance make it a good match for richer foods.
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Loire365 Factoid
What's In A Name?
Long before the concept of varietals had been invented (and when the same grape often had many different names), French winegrowers and wine makers had discovered that wines from one village or vineyard were very different from wines from the neighboring village or hillside. This is why French wines (including those of the Loire Valley) are identified by “appellations” or place names rather than by the grapes from which they are made. The words Appellations d’Origine Controlee, or the letters AOC on a label indicate that a wine is made in accordance with strict regulations that allow the producer to use the appellation.
