Bordeaux wines were often crossed with those from the Southwest to give them more body. Dry to semi-dry sparkling wines, sweet white wines, and light to strong red wines are made.
France's Southwest is a region with a long history in viniculture. Wines from Cahors, Gaillac, and Bergerac used to be sold as Bordeaux 'Haut-Pays'. The phylloxera vastatrix caused immense damage. The area's renaissance only began again a few years ago.
The Southwest borders on Bordeaux, Languedoc-Roussillon, the Atlantic and the Pyrenees - the vineyards go east and south and are strongly terraced. The climate is moist in the spring and autumn and warm in summer and winter because of the ocean's influence. The exceptions are Cahors, Fronton and Gaillac, where the Mediterranean makes for a variable climate. The soil is also variable.
Mostly Bordeaux vines are grown like the Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. In addition we find some local vines such as the Len de l'El, Mauzac, Négrette, Arrufiac, Baroque and Valdiguié.
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