Pommard

Pommard is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department of Burgundy in eastern France.

It is famous for its Côte de Beaune wine production. This village is situated directly south of Beaune along the Route des Grands Crus. The D973 runs through the village from Beaune and then on to Saisy and Autun.

Population

Wine

Like Nuits-Saint-Georges, the name of Pommard was made famous as a marketplace for wines from better areas, in the days before Appellation Controlee. The fact that its name is easy for foreigners to pronounce also helped. 130,000 cases produced from 337 hectares makes it the second biggest area by production after Beaune. 135 hectares of that is Premier Cru, of which Les Epenots and Les Rugiens are the most notable.

Pommard produces purely red wine - no whites.

Village

The square bell tower of its eighteenth century church, characterise the village and on the hills that surround Pommard, the vineyards dominate the landscape.

International relations

Pommard is twinned with:

Nackenheim, Germany

Pommard wine

Pommard wine is produced in the commune of Pommard in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Pommard is only used for red wine with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Pommard, but several highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards. The AOC was created in 1937.

In 2008, there were 321.69 hectares (794.9 acres) of vineyard surface in production for Pommard wine at village and Premier Cru level, and 12,892 hectoliter of wine was produced, corresponding to just over 1.7 million bottles.

The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris as accessory grapes in the red wines, but this is not very often practiced. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliter per hectare. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5 per cent potential alcohol for village-level wine and 11.0 per cent for Premier Cru wine.

Pommard wines are typically among the most powerful and tannic of the Côte de Beaune wines, providing a clear contrast to the light and elegant Volnay wines from the neighboring village.