Irancy () is a commune in the

Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...

department in

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

in north-central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is located southwest of Chablis in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

History

The town of Irancy was developed beginning in the year 900AD when the Abbot

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

, expanded his abbey to include the region of Irancy. This action was granted by the charter of King Charles on 22 April of the same year.

Huguenots

The religious tension of France during the Middle Ages reached even to the small town of Irancy. The city had been built around the Catholic convent of Saint Germain and persecutions for Protestants led to a siege in 1568. On 7 February, a group of French Protestants called

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

laid siege to the town of Irancy, an incident now called the Siege of Cravant. The village was looted and many people were killed, their bodies piled in an empty well. Still to this day, one of the streets in Irancy is called the "street of the dead" due to this incident.

Cholera pandemic

Up to 1832, the deaths in Irancy were approximately 30 people per year. However, Cholera swept the town twice between 1826 and 1841. During the height of the pandemic, Irancy lost 97 people in one month alone. Many families lost more than one person, a mother, a father, child or sibling.Archives départementales de l'Yonne: Registr
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Irancy wines

Despite once possessing a considerable reputation, the wines of Irancy had long since lost out to their more famous cousins in the

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.

. However, from the 1980s a number of producers have worked to change this situation and in 1999 they were rewarded with an area specific AOC. The area primarily produces red wines, predominantly from the

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

grape, although a small amount of

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

is also produced. Some producers also include small quantities of César and Tressot, less-known Burgundy grape varieties. Irancy's unusual topography - it lies in the hollow of a valley whose slopes are covered with vines and cherry trees - shelters it from some of the worst of the winter weather, whilst also allowing for sufficient sun to ripen the grapes. The area is one of the most northerly for red wine grape growing. In most years Irancy wines can be consumed within three or four years of bottling, however, many vintages will continue to improve for many years beyond that.

References

External links

Communes of Yonne {{Auxerre-geo-stub