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During the primary era, the region underwent a
considerable upheaval and was subjected to erosion lasting a million
year. In the secondary era, the region was covered by seas, giving
birth to a great sedimentation of limestone, clay and sand several
kilometres thick. Other geological changes in the Tertiary period
brought those sediments came back up to the surface where they gradually
folded, fractured and finally eroded down the valleys by the glaciers
and the rivers. It is in those limestone fallen rocks and on alluvial
cones, at an altitude of 300 to 600 meters, that the vineyards of
Savoy were established.
One generally thinks that mountainous regions with
a hard climate are not suitable for viticulture, and that the vine
grows, like everybody knows, in the southern warm regions. Well,
one is not always right as the wines of Savoy, produced and enjoyed
since the earliest antiquity, prove in a most convincing way. Savoy
has a continental climate, tempered by oceanic influences, which
provide frequent rains. The fluctuations in temperature are extreme
but are moderated to an extent by the proximity of the lakes of
the region. Winters are long and cold; they often last five good
months from November to March. Yet this has little impact on the
vines which are in their resting period. Springs are mild and damp;
the fog and the humidity are often whisked away by a northern breeze,
which clears the sky but also increases the risk of late frosts.
Flowering time consequently rarely take place before mid June. Summers
are hot and stormy. But September is usually the ideal and sound
picking time as it is a sunny period with little rain.
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