Entre-deux-Mers is a large wine sub-region of Bordeaux in southwestern France. Its name translates literally as "between two seas", although the seas in question are in fact rivers – the Garonne and Dordogne, which respectively form the area's southern and northern boundaries.
(© CIVB/Vincent Bengold)
Entre-deux-Mers is home to various appellations, which produce wines in styles ranging from the sweet botrytized whites of Cadillac, Loupiac and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont – all close to the northeast bank of the Garonne – to the dry table wines of Sainte-Foy and Graves de Vayres, closer to the Dordogne. The extended region along the Garonne, from the cluster of sweet white appellations as far as the area to the east of Bordeaux city, is the red wine appellation Côtes de Bordeaux – until 2009 called Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, a title now reserved for sweet whites.
Appellations in this region can certainly be tough to learn; Entre-Deux-Mers Haut-Benauge is for both sweet and dry whites, while within the same zone Bordeaux Haut-Benauge can be used only for dry wines. The regional Entre-deux-Mers appellation title itself applies uniquely to dry white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle and Ugni Blanc. However, the majority of wine produced within the boundaries of the AOC Entre-Deux-Mers is instead labeled as generic Bordeaux or as Bordeaux Supérieur.
Entre-deux-Mers occupies a substantial slice of the Bordeaux region, stretching from the city in the west almost all the way to the farmland outside Bergerac in the east. The landscape is mostly fertile and green, rolling gently between 33 and 330ft (10–100m) above sea level. However, vineyards have replaced some of the green landscape, with large patches of land being rapidly turned over to viticulture. The soils here are predominantly of alluvial type (sand and clay in varying proportions) from the two rivers.
Many winegrowers in the region uprooted their white grape varieties in the mid-20th Century, replacing them with more popular (and commercially viable) red varieties; primarily Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. However in recent years white wines have been making a comeback, due to modernized winemaking and the demand for crisp dry whites. The wines produced here are generally increasing in quality, but do not match those from areas such as Pomerol or the Haut-Médoc.
