Aunis

Aunis is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis (Châtelaillon) the historic capital which gives its name to the province.

It was a fief of the Duchy of Aquitaine. It extended to Marais Poitevin in the north, Basse Saintonge (and Niortais) in the east, and Rochefortais in the south. Aunis had an influence approximately 20–25 km into the Isle of Ré (l'Île de Ré).

The province was officially recognised during the reign of Charles V of France in 1374: "In 1374, Charles V separated La Rochelle from Saintonge to set up a provincial government, comprising the jurisdictions of Rochefort, Marennes and, for a time, Benon. It was thus that Aunis legally became a separate province."

Aunis was the smallest province in France, in terms of area. Nowadays it is a part of the Charente-Maritime département together with Saintonge.

People from Aunis were called Aunisien (masculine) or Aunisienne (feminine). The English term is Aunisian.

Pineau d'Aunis

Pineau d'Aunis (also known as Chenin noir) is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Loire Valley around Anjou and Touraine.

A favorite of Henry Plantagenet, the English king had Pineau d'Aunis wine first brought to England in 1246. Today the grape is permitted in several Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) wine regions of the Loire Valley, including Cheverny and Coteaux du Vendômois.

While a red wine grape, Pineau d'Aunis is often treated like Pinot noir and used to make rosé and white wines in both still and sparkling wine styles.

History

The name Pineau comes from the French word pin and refers to the pine cone shape that clusters of grapes can resemble. It was first used to describe a grapevine growing in the Loire Valley in 1183 AD but whether or not this was Pineau d'Aunis is not known since Pineau has been a synonym used for Pinot noir, Chenin blanc and Menu Pineau (Arbois).

Aunis, within what is now the Charente-Maritime department, was a pays erected into a historical province, the smallest of France, in 1374; it was a fief of the Duchy of Aquitaine, brought to the English monarchy by Eleanor of Aquitaine. In Aunis the grape may have once been grown, but is currently not widely planted. However, wine writer Oz Clarke believes that the grape was named after a priory known as Aunis that existed outside of the commune of Saumur during the Middle Ages. Today what is left of the Aunis priory belongs to the Fontevraud Abbey in Chinon.