Haut-Pays

A term used in the Middle Ages (Ober-Land) for a large area in south-western France. It was understood to mean the entire "Bordeaux hinterland". The "Haut" or "Ober" refers to the upper courses of the rivers, i.e. closer to the sources. These are today's appellations Bergerac, Buzet, Cahors, Côtes de Duras, Côtes du Brulhois and Gaillac. The ancient wine-growing region stretched from Bordeaux upwards along the two rivers Garonne and Dordogne. Wine was probably transported to the sea coast along this waterway as early as the 1st century, when the Romans cultivated wine here. In the Middle Ages, the main buyers were England and Holland. The wines were called "Vin de Haut" or in Dutch "Hooglansche Wijn". In the 17th century, the then marshy Médoc was drained by Dutch specialists and later vineyards were planted.The citizens of Bordeaux took advantage of their port as the main transshipment point for the wines of the entire region by shipping their own wines first before considering the others. This often lasted until spring and it was not uncommon for competitors' wines to spoil by then. Today, Haut-Pays tends to mean only the two areas of Cahors and Gaillac.

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Haut-Pays

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