Mâconnais

In contrast to the other vines beyond the Côte Chalonnaise, the vineyards beyond Macon were established not by Roman conquerors or settlers but by the Catholic clergy that dominated the land around the 11th and 12th centuries. The Cistercian orders were particularly influential in this process.

It was in the 17th century that Mâcon came to the fore, when its wines were popular in Paris – perhaps a little counter-intuitive, given its considerable distance from the capital and the difficult nature of the journey.

Perhaps the best explanation for this incongruity is simple necessity. Exports to other lucrative markets were blocked by authorities in Chalons and Dijon, who obviously favoured wines from the Cote d’Or, and in Lyon, who blocked the gateway to the Rhone. As a result of this vinous nepotism, the wines had to take the difficult journey to Paris, moving across land to each waterway to the next.