Barsac is a town and commune on the left bank of the Garonne river in the Gironde département in south-west France. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. ... The Garonne (Occitan: Garona) is a river in southwest France, with a length of 575 km (357 miles). ... Gironde is a département in the southwest of France named after the Gironde Estuary. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ...

Geography

Barsac is located 37 km upstream the Garonne river of Bordeaux at a longitude of 00° 18' 47" West and a latitude of 44° 36' 37" North. It has an average altitude of 8 m, with a minimum of 3 m and a maximum of 21 m. The total area of Barsac is 14.48 km². The Garonne (Occitan: Garona) is a river in southwest France, with a length of 575 km (357 miles). ...   New city flag (traditional tri-crescent) City coat of arms Motto: The fleur-de-lis alone rules over the moon, the waves, the castle, and the lion Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région Aquitaine Département Gironde (33) Intercommunality Urban Community of Bordeaux Mayor Alain... Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ...

Government

The mayor of Barsac is Phillippe Meynard who is serving a term from 2001 to 2008. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger,greater) is in modern times the title of the highest ranking municipal officer, who discharges certain judicial and administrative functions, in many systems an elected politician, who serves as chief executive and/or ceremonial official of many types of municipalities. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Wine

The town gives its name to a wine making appellation, Barsac AOC, that produces sweet white wines. Grow and harvest grapes. ... Appellation dOrigine Contrôlée (AOC), which roughly translates as term of origin is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, by the government bureau Institut National des Appellations dOrigine (INAO). ... Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of the juice of fruits, usually grapes. ...

The town and its vineyards are separated from the area of Sauternes to the south by the Ciron river, whose cooling effect is of key importance in encouraging the annual action of the Botrytis fungus on the Sémillon grapes. The area is marginally flatter than its neighbor and its wines are considered to be marginally lighter. The area is however permitted to use the Sauternes appellation. A vineyard Vineyard with bird netting Wine grapes with netting as protection against birds A vineyard (vignoble in French, vigna or vigneto in Italian, vinha in Portuguese, viña or viñedo in Spanish, Weinberg in German) is a place where grapes are grown for making wine, raisins, or table... Sauternes is a commune of the Gironde département in France. ... A grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea or Botrytis, that affects wine grapes. ... Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia. ... Species Vitis acerifolia Vitis aestivalis Vitis amurensis Vitis arizonica Vitis x bourquina Vitis californica Vitis x champinii Vitis cinerea Vitis x doaniana Vitis girdiana Vitis labrusca Vitis x labruscana Vitis lincecumii Vitis monticola Vitis mustangensis Vitis x novae-angliae Vitis palmata Vitis riparia Vitis rotundifolia Vitis rupestris Vitis shuttleworthii Vitis...

Producers from the area include the First Growths Château Climens, and Château Coutet. First Growth (French Premier Cru) status refers to the greatest wines of the Bordeaux region. ...

See also

• French wine
• Bordeaux wine
• Wine competitions
• Communes of the Gironde département

France is one of the oldest wine producing regions of Europe. ... Bordeaux wine, refers to all wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. ... The most common form of wine competition is one in which awards are given to groups of wines in various winning categories on the basis of the blind tasting of wine. ... The following is a list of the 542 communes of the Gironde département in France. ...

External links

• Official website (in French)
• Map of Barsac on Mapquest