Mâconnais district is located in the south of the Borgognawine region, west of the Saône River and is named after the city of Mâcon. It is known as a land of white wines, excellent Chardonnay and soughted Pouilly-Fuissé. Chardonnay is the main GRAPE VARIETY cultivated in the district, in fact there is a village of this name in the far north of the region. Some small plots are grown in Gamay and Pinot Noir and represent no more than 30% of the region's total wine production. This is because in the southern part of the Côte Maconnais there is the presence of Granite, which is poorly tolerated by Chardonnay, but well tolerated by Pinot Noir and Gamay. An important geological feature, and tourist attraction at the same time is the Roche de Solutré,a stone tooth that emerged from the depths of the earth that stands out among the vine-covered hills. The fortune of Mâconnais, although smaller than in other parts of Borgogna, is linked not only to its terroir, but to the influence of the Benedictine monks of nearby Cluny Abbey. The monks occupied the best areas of the Mâconnais and the whole Côte d'Or creating, between the 9th and 15th centuries, a dense network of affiliation with other European monasteries and abbeys. In this way they not only preserved the cultivation of the vine from continuous barbarian invasions, but constituted a reference center for the diffusion and development of agricultural techniques. Tangible testimony is given by the presence of abbeys, castles, churches, villages and then cellars throughout the area.
Italiano
English
