Dordogne Wine & Food

The origin of the Bergerac wine region corresponds to the dawn of the Romano-Gallic civilisation. The varietal grown on these first plantations was called "Biturica", a name reminiscent of the tribe that introduced its cultivation "Bituriges Vivisques". This is the grand ancestor of our current Cabernet, grown for its resistance to bad weather, its yield and its ability to improve over the years. The first documents that provide evidence for the significance and localisation of the vineyard date back to the 13th Century. They show that the abbeys, then the domains, were the first to own the main plots of vineyards. Stretching along the North bank of the Dordogne, over a 10 to 15 km radius around Bergerac, then in the Montravel region, the ‘Vinée de Bergerac’ soon extended to the South, across the river.

In January 1255, the Mayor, Knights and the whole Bergerac community submitted to Henry III, King of England. At the same time, Henry III established Bergerac as an autonomous region. As a result, the middle class obtained the right to freely transport their wines up to the mouth of the Gironde.

The inhabitants of Libourne and Bordeaux fought relentlessly against what they perceived as an exorbitant privilege, and raised taxes on these wines, by setting up successive river tolls, thus rendering them less competitive! However until the end of the Hundred Years war, Bergerac developed a flourishing trade with England and the Northern European markets.
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes as well as the Royal edict of 1776, which introduced the free circulation and free competition of wines, under the initiative of Turgot, France’s liberal General Controller, both contributed to the expansion of the wine trade in the Bergerac region towards Holland. At the very beginning of the 18th century the notion of ‘cru’ ,or ‘growth’, appeared for whites as well as reds. They became known as "Dutch brands" because of their destination.

Landscapes and terroir
The Bergerac wine region is crossed from East to West by the Dordogne and irrigated by a large number of its tributaries. From a geological point of view, the surface formations of the region are essentially linked to the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. The wine region stretches over a landscape of hills (‘boulbènes’ , a regional word for siliceous soil, as well as fertile soils with a high chalk content from Monbazillac hill slopes) and plateaux (chalky plateau from the Tertiary Era and soil from the Quaternary period) which are widely exposed to the sun on both banks of the Dordogne. The surface area of the Bergerac wine region in terms of production is 12 220 ha.

13 AOC
Red wines : Bergerac, Côtes de Bergerac, Montravel, Pécharmant
Rosé : Bergerac
Dry white wines : Bergerac, Montravel
Semi sweet white wines : Côtes de Bergerac, Haut Montravel, Côtes de Montravel, Rosette
Sweet white wines : Monbazillac, Saussignac.

Dordogne/Perigord Food
The two great stars of Périgord cuisine are foie gras and truffles (truffes). Foie gras is eaten on its own, in succulent slabs, often combined with truffles to accompany a huge variety of dishes from scrambled eggs to stuffed carp. In fact, you can be sure that this is what you're getting with any dish that has sauce Périgueux or à la périgourdine as part of its name. Truffles also come à la cendre, wrapped in bacon and cooked in hot ashes.

The other mainstay of Périgord cuisine is the grey Toulousegoose, whose fat is used in the cooking of everything, most commonly perhaps in the standard potato dish, pommes sarladaises. The goose fattens well: gavé or crammed with corn, it goes from six to ten kilos in weight in three weeks, with its liver alone weighing nearly a kilo. Though some may find the process off-putting, small local producers are very careful not to harm their birds, if for no other reason than that this will ruin the liver. When the liver has been used for foie gras, the meat is cooked and preserved in its own thick yellow grease as confits d'oie, which you can either eat on its own or use in the preparation of other dishes, like cassoulet. Duck is used in the same way, both for foie gras and confits. Magret de canard, or duck breast fillet, is one of the favourite ways of eating duck and appears on practically every restaurant menu.

Another common goose delicacy is cou d'oie farci – goose neck stuffed with sausage meat, duck liver and truffles; a favourite salad throughout the region is made with warm gésiers or goose gizzards. Try not to be put off by fare such as this, or your palate will miss out on some delicious experiences – like tripoux, or sheep's stomach stuffed with tripe, trotters, pork and garlic, which is really an Auvergnat dish but is quite often served in neighbouring areas like the Rouergue. Other less challenging specialities include stuffed cèpes, or wild mushrooms; ballottines, or fillets of poultry stuffed, rolled and poached; the little flat discs of goat's cheese called cabécou; and the sweet light bread called fougasse.