12 APPELLATIONS
> Régnié

Fact sheet

Appellation recognition decree :
8th December 1988. Régnié is the most recent of the Beaujolais Crus.
Appellation type : communal
 
Surface area : 393 ha.
 
Yield per hectare : 52 hl/ha
 
Production (in 2006) : 20 016 hl, or 2.6 million bottles.
 
Grape variety : gamay noir à jus blanc
 
Colour : red
 
Pruning type : short goblet leaving 3 to 5 branches on each vine and a maximum of 10 eyes (buds). Number of plants per hectare: from 8 000 to 10 000.
 
Soil type : arenite resulting from pink granite and potassic feldspar. The, sometimes polphyroid soil, contains very diverse mineral elements. There is a lot of sand.
 
Communes with the right to the appellation name : Régnié is practically all produced from vines on the commune of Régnié-Durette.
 
Number of vinegrowers : 120
 
Vinification : in whole bunches. This vinification type is specific to the Beaujolais winemaking area. Length of fermentation on the skins: from 8 to 10 days, depending on the vintage and the winemaker. After vatting and the first, alcoholic, fermentation, the grapes are pressed and the run off and press juices are assembled then the second, malo-lactic, fermentation takes place. Its role is to render the wines supple in removing their acidity. In order to get the most out of their grapes and give added structure to their wines, quite a few winemakers use techniques to immerge the grapes in their own juice during the first fermentation such as placing a grid over the cap to hold it down, pushing the cap down or pumping the juice from the bottom of the vat over the cap.