First cultivated by the Romans, the 'south west' is one of France's largest wine producing regions, encompassing over 16,000 hectares of land to the west of (but not including) Bordeaux.

The local rivers such as the Garonne and Dordogne previously played an important role in trade of the wines in moving them to markets, however passing through Bordeaux and the resulting trade laws caused them to become largely overshadowed. Nowadays, the region is now famous for it's sweet, dry and sparkling whites and it's strong reds, and it's varying climates and growing heights produce some very interesting blends!