Bordeaux wine regions 5 million litres from 925 hectares of vines. Note that, although the description 'clairet' may be derived from the English 'claret', 'claret' in fact refers exclusively to red Bordeaux. A small amount of sparkling wine is made in the Bordeaux region, under the appellation Crémant-de-Bordeaux AOC (known before 1990 as Bordeaux Mousseux). This is made using the methode traditionelle from the same grapes as white Bordeaux if white and the same grapes as red Bordeaux if rosé. The great majority is white, accounting for around 900,000 litres of production, as opposed to 20,000 litres of rosé. The appellation Vin de
Bordeaux wine vineyards were ruined by phylloxera infestations. The region's wine industry was rescued by grafting native vines on to pest-resistant American rootstock. The major reason for the success of winemaking in the Bordeaux region is an excellent environment for growing vines. The geological foundation of the region is limestone, leading to a soil structure that is heavy in calcium. The Gironde estuary dominates the regions along with its tributaries, the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers, and together irrigate the land and provide an Atlantic Climate, also known as an oceanic climate, for the region. Bordeaux lies at the center of the