Macon Wine Fair

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Frequently asked

Glossary

1

AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée)

France's protected-origin label. On the salon floor it tells you the wine was grown, made and bottled under rules tied to a named place. Mâcon-Villages, Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran are all AOCs you are likely to see on labels at Mâcon.

2

IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée)

A wider French origin label one step below AOC: fewer rules on grape varieties and yields, more freedom for the winemaker. Useful to know when a stand offers both an AOC and an IGP from the same estate.

3

Mâconnais

The southern Burgundy vineyard district around Mâcon, running from the Côte Chalonnaise south towards Saint-Véran and west into the Cluny hills. Chardonnay dominates, which is why the fair is a white-wine tasting first and foremost.

4

Pouilly-Fuissé

The best-known white AOC of the Mâconnais, made from Chardonnay around the villages of Fuissé, Solutré-Pouilly, Vergisson and Chaintré, beneath the Roche de Solutré.

5

Saint-Véran

White AOC next to Pouilly-Fuissé, spread over eight communes in the far south of the Mâconnais; typically rounder and slightly broader than its neighbour.

6

Viré-Clessé

White AOC covering the villages of Viré and Clessé, known for ripe, sometimes honeyed Chardonnay with a soft finish.

7

Mâcon-Villages

Village-level white AOC drawn from a defined list of Mâconnais communes. It is usually the entry point to the region and the most common bottle on Mâcon dinner tables.

8

Domaine

An estate that grows its own grapes and normally bottles its own wine. 'Mis en bouteille au domaine' on a label means the grower, not a merchant, bottled it.

9

Négociant-éleveur

A merchant house that buys grapes, must or wine and raises and bottles it under its own label. Common across Burgundy alongside estate bottling, and a good filter when you want consistent house style.

10

Cave coopérative

A growers' cooperative that vinifies and markets its members' fruit. Mâconnais cooperatives put several growers' parcels under one label and usually offer good value at the lower end.

11

Millésime

The vintage year, meaning the year the grapes were harvested. When you taste two millésimes of the same cuvée at a stand, you are comparing growing seasons, not the winemaker's recipe.

12

Élevage

The raising of the wine before bottling, in tank, barrel, concrete or amphora. It is the single most useful question to ask a Mâconnais grower about their Pouilly-Fuissé.

13

Chai

The working cellar where wine is vinified and aged. Cellar visits during the salon weekend are normally booked directly with the estate in advance.

14

Dégustation

A tasting. The salon routine is look, swirl, smell, sip, then swallow or spit. Spitting is normal and expected at a professional-style walk-around tasting, especially if you plan to taste more than a dozen wines.

15

Verre de dégustation

The tasting glass. At this salon the published entry price of EUR 5 per person includes one glass, which you carry between stands.

16

Crémant de Bourgogne

Traditional-method sparkling wine from Burgundy, made mainly from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay and aged on its lees. It is the sparkling category to look for at a Burgundy salon rather than Champagne.

17

Gamay

The red grape of Beaujolais, just south of the Mâconnais. Lighter and juicier than Pinot Noir, often made with carbonic maceration, and a useful contrast tasting at the fair.

18

Aligoté

Burgundy's second white grape after Chardonnay: higher acidity, leaner body, bottled as Bourgogne Aligoté. Traditionally used for the kir aperitif.

19

Marc de Bourgogne

A pomace brandy distilled from Burgundy grape skins and seeds after pressing. Strong, dry and the classic local digestif to look for among the spirits stands.

20

Terroir

The combination of soil, slope, exposure and local climate that a parcel expresses. In the Mâconnais, limestone and clay slopes are the usual talking point when growers explain why two neighbouring Chardonnays taste different.

21

Primeur

Wine released within weeks of harvest rather than aged. Beaujolais Nouveau in November is the famous example; at an April salon, primeur is more a conversation topic than a shelf item.