Nièvre vineyards – La Charité-sur-Loire

“Vineyards history” is a series of articles detailing the history of vineyards in France and all around the world.   As so often in vineyards history, La Charité-sur-Loire vineyards was developed under religious communities inspiration during Middle Ages.   La Charité-sur-Loire vineyards reached its peak in the nineteenth century. In 1788, vines covered a surface of 693 hectares, then 1384 hectares in 1874 and 1643 hectares in 1886. The phylloxera crisis had a profound impact in La Charité-sur-Loire. As a matter of fact, in 1899, vineyards lost 96% of its surface area and only covered 64 hectares.   Rebirth of the La Charité-sur-Loire vineyards began in January 1980 by the creation of the “Union viticole de La Charité”. Today, the “Côtes de La Charité IGP” is produced on an area of 50 hectares mainly localized on 3 municipalities (90%): Chasnay, Nannay and La Celle-sur-Nièvre.     Photo © C. Deschanel