Nièvre vineyards – Tannay
24 February 2020“Vineyards history” is a series of articles detailing the history of vineyards in France and all around the world.
Tannay vineyards have existed for centuries and acquired its reputation during Middle Ages. At that time, wines from Tannay were sent to Paris by the river Yonne. In his book Statistiques de l’arrondissement de Clamecy (1859), Auguste Marlière, sub-prefect, indicates that the Canton of Tannay had 861,9 hectares of vineyards (124 hectares just for the municipality of Tannay). Viticulture brought important additional income to peasant families. Wine were also produced for personal consumption.
In 1885-1890, vines covered a surface of 184 hectares in the municipality of Tannay. The phylloxera crisis had a profound impact in Tannay because 20 years later in 1905 vines only covered 25 hectares in Tannay.
The rebirth of the Tannay vineyards began in the 1990s. Today, the “Coteaux de Tannay IGP” is produced on an area of 30 hectares by around ten winemakers.