Gers is the IGP title covering white, red and rosé wines from the administrative department of the same name in South West France. The department lies between the northern foothills of the Pyrenees and the Aquitaine Basin, home to the famous vineyards of Bordeaux. The transitional terroir in Gers is also home to several AOC-level appellations, including Madiran and Armagnac, along with the larger Cotes de Gascogne IGP.
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Gers is almost halfway between the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, and enjoys climatic influence from both. The western part of Gers (where the overlapping appellations of Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh lie) is more Atlantic in nature: sandy loam soils dominate, and there is a fairly high level of rainfall. In the east, soils are made up of limestone clay and summers are considerably hotter and drier.
Both of these distinct terroirs are well suited to viticulture: in the west, the highly porous sandy soils allow the high levels of rainfall to drain off rapidly, drying the ground and reducing vigor and yield in the vineyards. In the dry eastern reaches of Gers, the clay soils retain enough water to keep the vines alive through drought conditions.
Most Gers IGP wines are light, fresh and white, made from Ugni Blanc and Colombard. The IGP allows for a large number of grape varieties, ranging from local varieties to more international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Many of the wines are blends from both of these categories, although red wine makes up only a tiny proportion of the wine sold under the Gers IGP.
The wines made in the department were previously known as Vin de Pays du Gers, although as the Vin de Pays category was renamed as Indication Géographique Protégée, the wines are now known as Gers IGP. Two previous sub-appellations, Vin de Pays de Cotes du Condomois and Vin de Pays des Cotes de Montestruc have been removed from French wine law, although Condomois has become a geographical indicator under the Cotes de Gascogne IGP.
