page_title: Bergerac wine
section_title: Soil composition and geology
hierarchical_section_title: Bergerac wine / Soil composition and geology
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Vue sur Bergerac depuis le château de Monbazillac
context_page_description: 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 12,000 hectares. The Bergerac area contains 13 Appellations d'origine contrôlées for red, white and rosé wines.
  The vineyards extend across the southern part of the Dordogne department, the Arrondissement of Bergerac. Bergerac soil also features excellent drainage as a result of its proximity to the Dordogne River.
  Approximately fifteen per cent of Bergerac AOC wine is sold outside France mainly to Great Britain, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
context_section_description: The nature of the soils mirrors the extent of the wine-growing area.
  The lacustrian calcareous source rock of the south-eastern area produces brown soil containing calcareous pebbles. The soil varies in thickness.
  To the north of the River Dordogne, the source rock contains sands and clays mixed with gravel; the latter produce acid soils with a faded brown colour, while an accumulation of minerals deep below the surface create an impermeable sub-stratum known as "tran".
  In the south-east, boulbènes formed from sands and washed out silts result in a crusting soil that is poor in nutrients.
  To the west, calcareous source rock that was once marine, produces brown soil containing calcareous pebbles. These are the same soils as those found in the wine-growing areas of the east Gironde, such as Saint-Émilion, Côtes de Castillon, Côtes de Franc.
  During the Quaternary period, the River Dordogne deposited terraces of gravel alluvia on both banks. These soils are acidic and not particularly fertile, but they offer good drainage.
caption: View of the vineyards from the Château of Monbazillac, with Bergerac in the background.
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