The wine-growing region in the southeast of France lies between the Rhône region (west), as well as Lake Geneva on the border with Switzerland and the Italian region of Piedmont (east). The only exception to the western border is the small area of Bugey. North of this is the Jura region, with which Savoie is often considered to share a wine-growing area. The Romans already knew the area and Pliny the Elder (23-79) described the resinous character of the wines. The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) lived near Chambéry from 1736 to 1742 and was effusive in his praise of Savoy's wine. From the beginning of the 15th to the middle of the 19th century, it was a kingdom in its own right, which also included large parts of Upper Italy such as Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, before finally falling to France in 1860.
The vineyards near the Alps cover around 2,100 hectares, scattered over the départements of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, and partly Ain and Isère. They are mainly located on the banks of the Rhône and stretch about 100 km from Lake Geneva in the north to Chambéry above Grenoble in the south. The climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) and France's largest lake, Lac du Bourget, exert a moderating influence. The predominant white wines are produced from Chardonnay, Chasselas, Jacquère, Roussanne, Roussette (Altesse) and Roussette d'Ayze. The red wines are mainly made from Gamay, Mondeuse Noire and Pinot Noir. Unlike many other regions in France, there are also many single-varietal wines here. The wine-growing areas (AOC, IGP):
Image: By Semnoz - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
