Bergerac wine Bergerac wine The Bergerac wine-growing region, a subregion of South West France around the town of Bergerac in the Dordogne department, comprises 93 communes. Its boundaries correspond more or less with those of the Arrondissement of Bergerac, immediately east of the Bordeaux wine region. 1,200 wine-growers cultivate an area of . The Bergerac area contains 13 "Appellations d'origine contrôlées" (AOCs) for red, white (dry, medium-sweet and sweet) and rosé wines. The vineyards extend across the southern part of the Dordogne department, the Arrondissement (urban district) of Bergerac. Bergerac soil also features excellent drainage as a result of its proximity to
Ancient Rome and wine of Cordoba and the sherry winemaking region of Cádiz. While the Carthaginians and Phoenicians were the first to introduce viticulture to Spain, Rome's influential wine technology and the development of road networks brought new economic opportunities to the region, elevating grapes from a private agricultural crop to an important component of a viable commercial enterprise. Spanish wine was in Bordeaux before the region produced its own. French historian Roger Dion has suggested that the balisca vine (common in Spain's northern provinces, particularly Rioja) was brought from Rioja to plant the first Roman vineyards of Bordeaux. Spanish wines were frequently traded