Corsica

The approximately 8,700 km² island (French: Corse) is located 160 kilometres south-east of the coast of France. In the 6th century BC, Corsica was colonised by the Phoenicians, who called it Korai (covered with forest). In the middle of the 3rd century BC, the island came under Roman rule. Around 1,000 AD, Pisa gained sovereignty and reactivated viticulture, which had fallen into decline due to the fall of the Roman Empire. From the end of the 13th century, Genoa took over. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was probably born in Calvi on the north-west coast. In 1572, the Genoese issued a decree that every family had to plant four vines.

Sale to France

The island was sold to France in 1768, and one year later Napoleon (1769-1821) was born in Ajaccio. As emperor, he granted his homeland the special privilege of selling wine without paying taxes. In the middle of the 19th century, there were still around 20,000 hectares of vineyards and three quarters of the population lived from winegrowing. The phylloxera catastrophe towards the end of the 19th century led to a total decline.

A new beginning

It was not until the early 1960s that viticulture was revitalised by French Algerians. They planted mass-produced varieties on a large scale and Corsica became the wine lake of Europe. In the 1980s, the EU initiated a vineyard clearing programme. Noble grape varieties were planted on a large scale and the area under vines was reduced to around 7,500 hectares today. This contributed greatly to an increase in quality. The climate is sunnier than in France, with hot summers and rainy, sunny autumns. However, the location on the Mediterranean and the many mountains cause relatively large weather fluctuations with different climatic conditions.

Grape varieties

50% red, 40% rosé and 10% white wines are produced. Important red wine varieties are Aleatico, Alicante Henri Bouschet, Barbarossa, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carcajolo Noir(Parraleta), Carignan Noir (Mazuelo), Cinsaut, Merlot, Nielluccio (Sangiovese), Sciaccarello (Mammolo) and Syrah; Important white wine varieties are Biancone, Biancu Gentile, Carcajolo Blanc (Bariadorgia), Genovese (Scimiscià), Malvoisie de Corse or Vermentinu (Vermentino), Muscat Blanc and Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano Toscano). Around 70% of production is accounted for by large winegrowers' co-operatives.

Wine-growing areas

The IGP (local wine) and AOC (quality wine) areas are:

• Ajaccio (AOC)
• Corse Calvi or Vin de Corse (AOC)
• Corse Coteaux du Cap Corse or Vin de Corse (AOC)
• Corse Figari or Vin de Corse (AOC)
• Corse Porto-Vecchio or Vin de Cor se (AOC)
• Corse Sartène or Vin de Corse (AOC)
• Ile de Beauté (IGP)
• Méditerranée (IGP)
• Muscat du Cap Corse (AOC)
• Patrimonio (AOC)
• Vin de Corse (AOC)

Domaine de la Figarella: By Tigerente, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Map: By Vicenç Riullop - Own work based on Corse, Public domain, Link