While wine-growing France is seeing consumption decline and requests to uproot vines multiply, a small vineyard in Auvergne is following an opposite trajectory. Born at the foot of volcanoes, he now looks towards New York.
Auvergne wines, and especially Côtes d’Auvergne, were invited to an international conference on volcanic wines in New York, a first. The Auvergne Rhône Alpes Region is banking on them, with 2 million euros invested each year in the sector.
Auvergne wines, a vineyard in awakening
The vineyard remains tiny: around 350 hectares, including 250 in AOP Côtes d’Auvergne and 100 in IGP Puy de Dôme, around fifty cooperators and around thirty independent cellars. Nearly 1.2 million bottles are released each year, all sold, while the State has received 5,800 requests for removal elsewhere.
For elected officials, this vitality contrasts with the image of yesteryear. , underlines Lionel Chauvin, president of the Puy-de-Dôme Departmental Council.
Volcanic terroirs of Auvergne wines
At the heart of this success, the volcanic terroir plays the role of signature. Gilles Vidal, president of the Puy-de-Dôme wine federation, summarizes: , he confides to France 3 Auvergne.
The vines line up on the slopes of the Chaîne des Puys, listed by UNESCO, among dozens of craters. Basalt, pozzolan, pumice and mixed soils generate around a hundred terroir units for barely 300 hectares, with fresh and smoky reds, very mineral whites.
New York, Volcanic Origin and export
To present itself abroad, the Vinora association launched the Volcanic Origin label in Clermont Ferrand. It guarantees, on the basis of soil studies, that at least 85% of the grapes come from volcanic plots. Côtes d’Auvergne already exports around 25% of its volumes, with prices up around 26%.
Domaine Royet, in organic farming in Ménétrol since 1991 and noticed by the Guide Hachette 2026, already embodies this showcase. For the Region, insists Fabrice Pannekoucke, president of the Auvergne Rhône Alpes Regional Council.
What are volcanic wines?
Wines from volcanic soils.
Where to find Auvergne wines?
At wine merchants, restaurants and online.
What is Volcanic Origin?
A label guaranteeing volcanic origin.
