Clairette de Die AOC

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Clairette de Die AOC is a natural sparkling wine made from the Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (75% minimum) and Clairette (25% maximum) grape varieties. It is characterized by its peach and apricot flavors and rose and honeysuckle aromas.

Rhône Wine: Diois (wine region)
Official name	Clairette de Die AOC
Appellation type	Appelation d'origine contrôlée
Year established	Clairette 1942; Crèmant 1993
Years of wine industry	over 2,000
Country	France
Part of	Rhône Valley
Other regions in vicinity	Crémant e Die
Climate region	mediterranean
Yield (hl)	86,400
Grapes produced	Muscat blanc, Clairette
Wine produced	natural sparkling
Data	2005
Key	ha: hectares, hl: hectolitres, hl/ha: hectolitres per hectare
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Crémant de Die from the same area and same producers is a prestige dry, natural sparkling wine of apple and green fruit flavours and fragrance and is vinified by the traditional Champagne method of a first fermentation in the vat followed by a second fermentation in the bottle. Originally produced from from 100% Clairette, Aligote and Muscat are now included. It is usually drunk as an aperitif but it can equally accompany a meal.

[edit] Other wines from the Die Region

Coteaux de Die A still (non sparkling) dry white wine produced from 100% clairette that was accorded an AOC in 1993. The low annual production is about 144 hectolitres. Characterised by green tints, it is usually drunk chilled and can accompany seafood.

Chatillon-en-Diois A still (non sparkling) wine available in three colours that was accorded an AOC in 1975. The red and rosé are produced from gamay, pinot noir and syrah and are produced only from the vinyards around the village of the same name while the white wine is produced by thirteen communes.

[edit] Location, Soil and History

East of the town of Valence, the vinyards od Die in the French department of the (Drôme) on the border area between the northern and southern sub-regions of the Côtes du Rhône AOC area, in the Rhône wine region, at altitudes of up to 700 metres are among the highest in France. The chalky agilliferous soil has the feature of being able to retain enough of its rainwater to maintains a constant supply to the vines during the long dry summers.

Although the Die region stands isolated in an area of otherwise very little wine production between the northern and southern wine producing parts of the Rhône valley, the making Clairette de Die can be traced back over two thousand years. In 1971, the method of production of the Clairette de Die wine, was officially recognised as the "ancestral dioise process" in 1971. Clairette received its first distinction, the AO - appellation d'origine in 1910, and the AOC was established in 1942.^[1]