🍇 Melon de Bourgogne
A white grape originally from Burgundy; the main grape of Muscadet on the Loire.
Melon de Bourgogne is a white grape that originated in Burgundy. It came from a cross of Pinot and Gouais Blanc, an old variety. In Burgundy the grape almost vanished, but it settled well in the west of the Loire valley, near the city of Nantes, where it was brought several centuries ago.
It makes the wine Muscadet. This is a dry, light white wine with high acidity, smelling of lemon, apple and sea breeze. The best Muscadet comes from Sèvre-et-Maine, and also from Coteaux de la Loire and Côtes de Grandlieu. The wine is often aged on its lees, that is, together with dead yeast: this makes it fuller and softer. The ageing is called "sur lie".
Muscadet goes well with oysters and seafood, since the Nantes area lies on the Atlantic. Wines of young vintages are best drunk fresh and chilled. Sometimes Muscadet has a light spritz, called perlant. Melon de Bourgogne is an example of a grape that found a new home far from its birthplace.
How it connects to Wine
🍇 Melon de Bourgogne → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍇 Grape varieties
- Origin
- 🗺️ French wine
- Where it grows
- 📜 Muscadet, 📍 Loire Valley, 📍 Pays Nantais
- Main grape in
- 📜 Muscadet, 📜 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, 📜 Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire, 📜 Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu
- Related to
- 🍷 Perlant, 🍷 Lees ageing
- Parents
- 🍇 Gouais Blanc
Frequently asked questions
What is Melon de Bourgogne?
A white grape that originated in Burgundy, the main grape of Muscadet in the Loire.
What is ageing on lees?
The wine is left with dead yeast to become fuller and softer.
What is Muscadet served with?
Oysters, seafood and fish.
What to read next
- 🗺️ French wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes and appellations.
- 📜 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine — The main Muscadet area south-east of Nantes; the wines are often aged on their lees.
- 📍 Pays Nantais — The Atlantic mouth of the Loire, home of Muscadet.
- 🍷 Lees ageing — Wine rests for a long time on dead yeast and picks up flavours of bread and brioche.
- 📜 Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire — Dry white Muscadet from the banks of the Loire above Nantes.
Similar
🍇 Arbois · 🍇 Romorantin · 🍇 Ribier · 🍇 Gouget Noir · 🍇 Abondance · 🍇 Blanc Dame