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Tunisia

Túnez (ES)
Tunisie (F)
Tunisia (I)
Tunisia (GB)
Tunísia (PO)
Tunesië (N)

Located in North Africa, the state with the capital Tunis covers an area of 163,610 km². It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east (1,146 km of coastline), Algeria to the west and Libya to the south-east. Tunisia belongs to the Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Western Sahara). The largest offshore island is Djerba (514 km²).

Tunesiern - Landkarte, Flagge, Wappen

History

The Phoenicians were already cultivating vines in Carthage (capital of the ancient Carthaginian Empire) in ancient times. However, after the conquest by the Turks in 1574 and the associated Islamic ban on alcohol, it came to a complete standstill. In the 19th century, French and Italian colonists planted vineyards on the Cap Bon peninsula and began growing grapes professionally. By 1930, over one million hectolitres of wine were being produced annually. Phylloxera reached the country relatively late in 1936 and caused the vineyards to be reduced by more than half.

Viticulture in modern times

The vineyards are located in the north-east near the coast (close to the capital Tunis) in the areas of Aryanah, Bin Arus, Bizerte, Béja-Jendouba, Cap Bon, Nabeul and Zhagwan. Artificial irrigation is required in some areas. In 1957, the quality levels VCC (Vins de Consumation Courante), VS (Vins Supérieurs), VDQS (Vins de Qualité Supérieure) and AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) were introduced following the French model. The "Office du Vin" was founded in 1970 with the aim of producing Tunisian wines of export quality.

There are seven appellations: Coteaux de Tébourba, Coteaux d'Utique, Kélibia, Mornag, Muscat de Kélibia, Sidi Salem and Thibar. Sweet, fortified Muscat wines are traditional. High-alcohol red wines and rosé wines (considered to be the best) are mainly produced. Single-varietal wines must contain 80% of the variety. There are around 25 wineries, the largest being Union de Coopératives Viticoles de Tunisie. Other well-known producers are Château Feriani, Héritiers Tené Lavau, Office des Terres Domaniales (with Château Thibar), Société des Vins Tardi (with Royal Tardi) and Société Lomblot (with Domaine Karim). Distillates made from figs, such as the high-proof distillate Boukha and the sweet liqueur Thibarine, are traditional.

List of grape varieties

In 2021, the vineyards covered 22,466 hectares and the wine production volume was 350,000 hectolitres. Table grapes are produced from the majority of the areas. The grape variety chart (Kym Anderson):

Grape variety

Colour

Synonyms

Hectare

Italia white - 644
Cinsaut red - 626
Muscat d'Alexandrie w - 405
Mazuelo red Cariñena, Samsó, Carignan 238
Alicante Henri Bouschet red - 178
Chardonnay white 170
Garnacha Tinta red Grenache Noir 152
Sultana white Sultaniye 139
Cardinal red - 121
Cabernet Sauvignon red - 117
Airén white - 85
Sauvignon Blanc white - 85
Syrah red - 67
Merlot red 64
Clairette white - 22
remaining white varieties white 45
remaining red varieties red 144

Map: © Goruma
Flag: Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: by FXXX - Collaborative effort by Graphics Lab, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Source 1st paragraph: WIKIPEDIA Tunisia

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