Regional Bordeaux AOCs or a light-coloured red wine. As there is also a more commonly used "Bordeaux rosé" designation, Bordeaux clairet is not simply any rosé from Bordeaux. Bordeaux clairet wines are similar in colour to the wines which were shipped from Bordeaux to England during the Middle Ages, known as "French Claret". These wines established the fame of Bordeaux as a wine-making region, and led to the (primarily English) practice of referring to Bordeaux as "claret". They are refreshing wines, appreciated because they can be easily enjoyed with picnics or exotic food. Yearly production is 52,000 hectolitres from 925 hectares of vineyard
South West France (wine region) Gironde estuary) and their tributaries, as well as the wine-producing areas of Gascony including Béarn, and the Northern Basque Country. However, only areas closer to the Atlantic than to the Mediterranean are included in the region, with the city of Toulouse being situated roughly halfway between the South West wine region and the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region on the Mediterranean. The brandy-producing region Armagnac is situated within Gascony and the wine region of South West France, and some of its grapes are used to make Vin de Pays under the designation "Vin de Pays de Côtes de Gascogne" or mixed with