Saint-Amour (wine region)

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Overview map of the Beaujolais wine-growing region including the ten crus

The French wine-growing region of Saint-Amour is one of the ten crus des Beaujolais . The area received the status of an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC for short) on February 8, 1946 . The 317 hectares of vineyards are in the communal area of Saint Amour-Bellevue in the Saône-et-Loire department . The zone is the northernmost of all the Beaujolais crus and borders directly on the Mâconnais area . It is located at an altitude of up to 305  m about 12 km southwest of the city of Mâcon .

Saint-Amour freely translated means holy love . The name goes back to a Roman soldier called Amor who narrowly escaped a massacre in Saint-Maurice in Valais in 286 and lost many of his companions. The group had refused to riot against Christians. He fled to Gaul and settled in Beaujolais, where he worked as a missionary.

The region produces red wines from the Gamay grape variety , which are quite strong. The wines are made with the traditional carbonic acid maceration. This method of winemaking is slow and unsuitable for making Beaujolais Nouveau, but it does make significantly better wines.

The wines should be drunk 3–5 years after harvest. A good drinking temperature is 14 ° C. However, some winemakers still prefer a light wine, which should be consumed within 12-15 months of the harvest.

The vineyards lie on deep, loamy soil that is interspersed with granite pebbles. Since the area lies in the transition zone between Beaujolais and Mâconnais, some wines may also be sold as Macon Villages.

A bottle of Saint-Amour usually costs € 5–8 per bottle. In 1965 the municipality set up a sales room in the hamlet of Plâtre-Durand, where a wide variety of regional wines can be tasted and bought.

The other Beaujolais cru wines are Brouilly , Chénas , Chiroubles , Côte de Brouilly , Fleurie , Juliénas , Moulin à Vent , Morgon and Régnié .

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