Orléans (grape)

Orléans is a variety of white grape (sp. Vitis vinifera) which up until the 19th century was much grown in Germany, but in very little use since the early 20th century. It has large berries with thick skins and a high yield. Young Orléans wine has been described as somewhat reminiscent of wine made from white varieties of the pinot family, but with pineapple aromas.

History

German legends claim that the variety is French in origin, actually from the city of Orléans, and that Charlemagne (742-814) was responsible for the first German plantings, which should have been in Rüdesheimer Berg in Rheingau, which were locally known as Berg Orléans. However, there seem to be no documentary evidence to support this, and other legends point to Charlemagne as an importer of red varieties. The origin of this grape variety is not known with precision; it could have been brought from France by the Cistercian monks who founded much of the German wine industry along Rhine. What is known is that has a long history in the wine-growing areas along the Rhine, where Orléans and Trollinger were common earlier than Riesling. In the 19th century, it was widely used in Gemischter Satz plantation together with varieties such as Elbling, Heunisch, Riesling, Pinot gris, Silvaner and Traminer. In the 19th century, It seems to have been particularly common in many of the best vineyard sites, such as Rüdesheimer Berg in Rheingau and the vineyards Jesuitengarten, Kirchenstück and Ungeheuer around Forst in the Palatinate, where it was mixed with Riesling and Traminer. The reason for this seems to be that, although high yielding, it is a late ripening variety that needed to be planted in these sites in order to ripen properly, and would not give a good quality in every year. Most likely this was the reason for its decline, since it had to compete for the best sites with Riesling. Varietally pure Orléans wines were considered to be heavy, spicy and long-lived.

Orléans

Orléans (UK /ɔːˈlɪənz/;French pronunciation: ​[ɔʁleã]) is a city in north-central France, about 111 kilometres (69 mi) southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret department and of the Centre-Val de Loire region.

Orléans is located on the Loire River where the river curves south towards the Massif Central.

The city of New Orleans (in French, La Nouvelle-Orléans), in Louisiana, United States is named after the commune of Orléans.

Geography

Orléans is located in the northern bend of the Loire, which crosses from east to west. Orléans belongs to the vallée de la Loire sector between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire, which was in 2000 inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The capital of Orléanais, 120 kilomètres south-south-west of Paris, it is bordered to the north by the Beauce region and the forêt d'Orléans, and the Orléans-la-Source neighbourhood and the Sologne region to the south.

Five bridges in the city cross the river :

Orléans AOC

Orléans is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Loire Valley wine region of France situated around the city of Orléans.

History

Contemporary History

This wine has held AOC status since September 2006. Prior to this date it held VDQS status, and the VDQS was renamed from Vins de l'Orléanais to Orléans in 2002. In the course of the 20th century, the Orléans wine-growing area went through a serious decline. Its accession to AOC status has come about now thanks to the unstinting efforts of its own producers over the last 20 years.

Geographical Location

The area lies in the Loiret department in the communes of Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, Saint-Pryvé-Saint-Mesmin, Baule, Beaugency, Chécy, Cléry-Saint-André, Mardié, Mareau-aux-Prés, Meung-sur-Loire, Mézières-lez-Cléry, Olivet, Orléans, Saint-Ay, Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Mesmin and Saint-Jean-de-Braye.

Geology

Siliceous clay and siliceous gravel soils.

Climate

The climate is semi-oceanic with continental influences.

Wine-growing area

Duke of Orléans

Duke of Orléans (French: Duc d'Orléans) was a title reserved for French royalty, first created during the 14th century. Known as princes of the blood (princes du sang), the title of Duke of Orléans was given, when available, to the oldest brother of the king. Thus, they formed a collateral line of the French royal family, with an eventual right to succeed to the throne should more senior princes of the blood die out.

During the period of the ancien régime the holder of the title often assumed a political role. The Orléans branch of the House of Valois came to the throne with Louis XII (15th century). Louis Philippe II, fifth Duke of Orléans, contributed to the destruction of the ancient regime. At the head of a retrospectively named 'Orleanist' faction centred on the Palais Royal, he contested the authority of his cousin Louis XVI in the adjacent Louvre. His son would eventually ascend the throne in 1830 following the July Revolution as Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. The descendants of the family are the Orléanist pretenders to the French throne, and the title has been used by several members of the House. The holder of the title held the style of Serene Highness.