Vinous

AOC · Appellation profile

Saint-Pourçain

32,521 haProduction zone
5Wines in the rules
15.9 °CGrowing season · intermediate
IbWinkler region

What is made here

Wine colours

Colours the rules allow. Pick a colour to filter the rules and grapes below.

Where it is

Saint-Pourçain in France

Latitude
46.2°–46.5° N
Vineyard altitude
261 m to 356 m
Delimited vineyard land
2,833 ha

The delimited vineyard parcels themselves, so the shape is patchy: only land within them may grow the wine. Boundary: INAO parcel delimitation (Licence Ouverte); nearby parcels drawn as one block, with less detail for larger appellations. Country outlines: Natural Earth. Dots on the zone map are the vineyard points used for climate.

Showing every colour The colour filter changes the rules and grapes. Climate, vintages and soils describe the vineyards, so they stay the same.

01 · What the law says

The rules

Limits on grapes, yields, ripeness and ageing that every wine labelled Saint-Pourçain must meet.

5 wines in the rules, all colours.
WineMain grape(s)Max yield
t/ha
Max wine
hl/ha
Yield ceiling
hl/ha
Grape sugar
min. g/l
Grape ripeness
min. % pot. alc.
After enrichment
max. % alc.
Sugar
max. g/l
Saint-Pourçain Gamay, Pinot Noir–66–––––
Saint-Pourçain Gamay–66–––––
Saint-Pourçain Gamay, Pinot Noir9.5556618010.512.52
Saint-Pourçain blanc 50% Chardonnay9.5556617010.512.54
Saint-Pourçain rosé 100% Gamay9.5556617010.512.54

From the official production rules (cahier des charges). Hover a figure to see the clause it comes from. A dash means the rules set no figure, or it is not captured yet.

Blend rules

Saint-Pourçain

  • 40–75% Gamay · Main grape
  • 25–60% Pinot Noir · Main grape

Blend rules

Saint-Pourçain blanc

  • 50–80% Chardonnay · Main grape
  • 20–40% Sacy · Allowed
  • ≤ 10% Sauvignon Blanc · Allowed

Other varieties allowed

Besides the main grapes, the rules allow these varieties in some wines. Grape names link where a profile exists.

2 varieties · Saint-Pourçain

Sacy, Sauvignon Blanc

In the vineyard and cellar: rules for every wine

4,000
Vines per hectare, minimum
Training
Systems allowed
taille Guyot simple; taille Guyot double; cordon de Royat

02 · Climate fingerprint

The climate

The growing season averages 15.9 °C, intermediate on Gregory Jones's scale, with 1,281 growing degree days (Winkler Ib).

The average year  1991–2020, vineyards at about 295 m

Monthly mean, °CRain, mmGrowing season
3.7° 66 Jan 4.1° 56 Feb 7.3° 60 Mar 10.3° 78 Apr 14.2° 85 May 17.9° 67 Jun 20.2° 64 Jul 20.2° 69 Aug 16.2° 72 Sep 12.3° 74 Oct 7.3° 79 Nov 4.4° 73 Dec
Growing-season temperature
15.9 °C
Intermediate · 15–17 °C (Jones)
Growing degree days
1,281
Region Ib: 1,111–1,388 degree days
Growing-season rain
509 mm
Of 843 mm a year
Harvest rain
146 mm
September–October

Copernicus ERA5-Land monthly averages at 5 vineyard points (Vineyard point 1, 286 m; Vineyard point 2, 325 m; Vineyard point 3, 259 m; Vineyard point 4, 297 m; Vineyard point 5, 307 m), moved to each point's height from the model's terrain. Indices that need daily data are not captured yet. How the climate figures are made.

Closest climates in the database

Picked by the data, not by hand: the profiles nearest on season warmth (counted twice), degree days, rain, ripening-month nights and day–night range. Neighbours within 30 km are left out, as they share the same weather.

1. ChâteaumeillantVery similarCompared with Saint-Pourçain: same season warmth, similar rain.
2. Pouilly-FuméVery similarCompared with Saint-Pourçain: same season warmth, similar rain.
3. Pouilly-sur-LoireVery similarCompared with Saint-Pourçain: same season warmth, similar rain.

Growing-season temperature

Saint-Pourçain
15.9 °C
Châteaumeillant
15.9 °C
Pouilly-Fumé
15.9 °C
Pouilly-sur-Loire
15.9 °C

Growing degree days

Saint-Pourçain
1,281
Châteaumeillant
1,271
Pouilly-Fumé
1,278
Pouilly-sur-Loire
1,278

Growing-season rain

Saint-Pourçain
509 mm
Châteaumeillant
517 mm
Pouilly-Fumé
493 mm
Pouilly-sur-Loire
493 mm

03 · Year by year

35 vintages

Each column is one growing season: heat above or below the 1991–2020 average, and rain at harvest. Pick a year for the details.

Warmer than averageCooler than averageHarvest rain (Sep–Oct)Average harvest rain, 146 mm
2025
Growing-season temp.
Growing degree days
Harvest rain
Growing-season rain
September nights
Hot days and frosts

Seasons are labelled by harvest year (April–October). Year-to-year changes from ERA5-Land; tested against station records in Alto Adige (r = 0.94 for season temperature at Bolzano). Rain varies more locally, so treat single-season rain with some caution. Vintage ratings, harvest dates and frost or hail events have places in the data model but are not loaded yet.

04 · Where the numbers come from

Sources

  1. A geospatial inventory of regulatory information for wine protected designations of origin in Europe · Candiago et al., Scientific Data 9, 394 (2022); Eurac Research · CC0
  2. Quality wines in Italy and France: a dataset of PDO specifications · figshare 25393261 · CC BY 4.0
  3. ERA5-Land monthly averaged data (reanalysis-era5-land-monthly-means) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), Climate Data Store · CC BY 4.0 (Copernicus licence)
  4. OpenStreetMap vineyard areas (landuse=vineyard), from Geofabrik country extracts · OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0
  5. Copernicus DEM GLO-90 (AWS open data tiles) · European Space Agency / Copernicus · Copernicus DEM licence
  6. Cahier des charges: Saint-Pourçain (Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée Saint-Pourçain homologué par l'arrêté du 26 mai 2025 publié au JORF du 29 mai 2025 - BO n°24 du 12 juin ) · Ministère de l'Agriculture (Bulletin officiel), as linked by INAO · Official act
  7. Délimitation parcellaire des AOC viticoles de l'INAO · Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO), via data.gouv.fr · Licence Ouverte / Open Licence (Etalab)
  8. Climate profiles calculated by Vinous: method
Still to check (3)
  • Generated from EU reference data: check against the current product specification.
  • From the specification: The register lists one name for white, red and rosé wines; the colour products are split here because their rules differ. Variety proportions are assessed on the holding's vineyard for each colour, and white and red wines must be blended in the same proportions. Pruning is Guyot simple, Guyot double or cordon de Royat (12 buds per vine for gamay and pinot noir, 14 for the white varieties). Release follows article D.645-17; the text caps alcohol 'after enrichment' without a separate enrichment clause. The name may be completed with 'Val de Loire'.
  • National tier (DOC/DOCG) not captured yet; rules extracted from the specification text.