Saussignac () is a

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

appellation (

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

, AOC) in South West France. The Saussignac AOC is used exclusively for a sweet white

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...

, similar to

Monbazillac Monbazillac (; oc, Montbasalhac) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also * Monbazillac AOC *Communes of the Dordogne department The following is a list of the 503 communes ...

but a little drier. The grapes used are generally

Sémillon Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC. History The Sémi ...

grapes which have been affected by ''

Botrytis cinerea ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" ...

''. To qualify for the appellation, the grapes must be grown, and the wine produced, in the four communes of

Saussignac Saussignac (; oc, Saussinhac) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is in the heart of Bergerac wine country and produces sweet white wines. Its village centre has a Poste and Mairie. The villa ...

, Razac-de-Saussignac, Monestier and

Gageac-et-Rouillac Gageac-et-Rouillac (; oc, Gajac e Rolhàs) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. A scattered village consisting of many small hamlets. Gageac is now the main village with the Mairie whilst Rouil ...

. A fundamental difference between Saussignac and all other sweet or late-harvest wines is that

chaptalization Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not ...

, or the addition of sugar, is forbidden under the rules of the AOC.

References

External links

AOC Saussignac - Avenue des Vins
South West France AOCs {{wine-region-stub