The wine-growing region is located in north-east France between Champagne and northern Alsace, close to the German border. The area dates back to the historic Duchy of Lorraine. From 1960 to 2015, Lorraine formed its own region with Metz as its capital. From 2016, the Grand Est (Greater East) region was established with Strasbourg as its capital, comprising the Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne regions.

History

The historical landscape was once a flourishing wine-growing region. Even the Celts (Gauls) cultivated vines here. In 1890, the area under vines still totalled 30,000 hectares, 6,000 of which were around the town of Toul. Phylloxera destroyed a large part of it. After new vines were planted, the grape must was bought up by wholesalers in Champagne and processed into champagne. This was stopped in 1907 after the creation of the "Champagne" appellation. The subsequent planting of inferior hybrids and the devastation caused by the battles of the First World War (1914-1918) and industrialisation brought about a total decline in viticulture.

Vineyards - Appellations

Today, only 115 hectares remain, making Lorraine by far the smallest region in France. It was not until 1951 that two regional wine-growing areas were defined. The AOC area Côtes de Toul comprises around 80 hectares of vineyards on limestone scree soils to the west of Toul in the eight municipalities of Blénod-lès-Toul, Bruley, Bulligny, Charmes-la-Côte, Domgermain, Lucey, Mont-le-Vignoble and Pagney-Derrière-Barine. The red wine varieties Gamay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier as well as the white wine variety Auxerrois are authorised. A local speciality is the light rosé wine Vin gris (lightly pressed red wine), which is mainly blended from the Gamay variety and at least 10% Pinot Noir.

The former VDQS area Vin de Moselle was classified as AOC Moselle in 2010. The vineyards cover 35 hectares of vines on stony limestone soils in around 20 communes on the slopes of the Moselle and Seille rivers. Red wines, rosé wines and white wines are produced. The red wine varieties Pinot Noir, Gamay and Pinot Meunier as well as the white wine varieties Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Müller-Thurgau, Gewürztraminer and Riesling are authorised. The Pinot Noir, Auxerrois and Pinot Gris varieties account for over 80%.

The IGP area Côtes de Meuse in the Département Meuse covers around 40 hectares of vineyards in 15 municipalities, including Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel, Thillot-sous-les-Côtes, Hannonville-sous-les-Côtes and Buxières-sous-les-Côtes.

Producers

The best-known producers in Lorraine include Bruant, Vincent Gorny, Simon-Hollerich, Michel et Marcel Laroppe, André et Roland Lelièvre, Yves Masson, Fernand Poirson, Stromberg, Société Vinicole du Toulouis, Domaine de la Vacquiniere, Domaines de Vinsmoselle and Michel Vosgien.

Map: by Domenico-de-ga from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link