Pouilly-Fuissé



Pouilly-Fuissé is an appellation (AOC) for white wine in the Mâconnais subregion of Burgundy in central France, located in the communes of Fuissé, Solutré-Pouilly, Vergisson and Chaintré. Pouilly-Fuissé has Chardonnay as the only grape variety.

Pouilly-Fuissé is the best-known part of Mâconnais. The AOC was created on September 11, 1936. It was granted premier cru designation in September 2020. There are currently 22 premier cru climats. The area used to be known simply as "Pouilly,” but when the AOC laws were introduced, it was split into three: Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Loché and Pouilly-Vinzelles.

Style
Chardonnay is the only permitted grape here, and many of the wines produced are considered the same quality level as those made in the Côte de Beaune, without costing nearly as much.

Oak aging is up to the producer, and there are many examples of wine produced with or without oak. Either way, aromas and flavors of nuts, yellow fruit like lemon, pineapple, and apples. With age, honey and brioche become dominant. The best of these wines can age up to 20 years.

Geography
West of Mâcon the land rises up to form Mont de Pouilly and other limestone hills, covered in the alkaline clay that best suits Chardonnay. The villages of Vergisson, Solutré-Pouilly, Fuissé and Chaintré shelter at their feet.

Production
In 2008, 757.20 ha of vineyard area was in production within the Pouilly-Fuissé AOC, and 39,147 hectoliters of wine were produced, corresponding to 5.2 million bottles of wine.

AOC regulations
The AOC regulations only allow Chardonnay to be used. The allowed base yield is 50 hectolitre per hectare and the grapes must reach a maturity of at least 11.0 per cent potential alcohol.

Notable residents
The négociant Georges Duboeuf of the Beaujolais wine region grew up on a small vineyard in the region.

In popular culture
Ernest Hemingway references Pouilly-Fuissé several times in A Moveable Feast. In a meeting with the poet Ernest Walsh, "at a restaurant that was the best and most expensive in the Boulevard St.-Michel quarter," the two dine on oysters "and a bottle of Pouilly Fuisse..." while discussing their mutual friends James Joyce and Ezra Pound.

The Andy Griffith Show includes the wine in the Season 6, Episode 2, called "Andy's Rival".

In Hogan's Heroes, Season 2, Episode 10, "A Tiger Hunt in Paris, Part 1," LeBeau recommends Pouilly-Fuisse '41 for lunch, describing it as "not a daring wine, but a safe wine."

In the 1970 film, The Boys in the Band, Michael (Kenneth Nelson) provides a bottle of Pouilly-Fuissé to his friend Harold (Leonard Frey) saying "Here's a bottle of Pouilly-Fuissé I bought especially for you kiddo" to which Harold replies, "Pussycat. All is forgiven. You can stay. No, you can stay but not all is forgiven. Cheers."

In the Season 5, Episode 6 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show entitled "I Love a Piano", Murray returns to work intoxicated after having had a long lunch with a divorcee. When Lou asks him what he has been imbibing, he replies, "Pouilly-Fuissé." Lou says, "Too bad [...] I've been a news man for thirty years. I've sobered up guys who were drunk on everything from Scotch to aftershave lotion. But never once in my life have I had to sober up anyone who was drunk on Pouilly-Fuissé. I don't know what to do. I don't know whether to give him black coffee or cheese!"

Jimmy Buffet's song "Landfall" contains a reference: "Oh, I love the smell of fresh snapper fried light; What'd you say, Pouilly-Fuisse could round out the night."

The song "Intravino", by Daryl Hall & John Oates from their 1979 album X-Static, has the lyrics: "Six o'clock, gotta have Beaujolais. Eight o'clock, I open up the Pouilly-Fuissé."

In the Season 6, Episode 10 of The Jeffersons entitled “Louise vs. Florence,” Pouilly-Fuissé is prominently referenced by several characters, including Harry Bentley (Paul Benedict), George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley), and Mr. Van Morris (a guest-starring role played by Fred D. Scott).

The Facts of Life, Season 3, Episode 1, "Growing Pains", Blair brings back two bottles of Pouilly-Fuisse.

In Carl Hiaasen’s novel “Tourist Season” a coroner “found two gallstones, forty-seven grams of partially digested stone crabs, and thirteen ounces of Pouilly Fuisse” in the stomach of the character B.D. “Sparky” Harper.

Pouilly-Fuissé was legendary drinker Andre the Giant's favorite wine.

In the Frasier episode "Three Dates and a Breakup: Part 2," Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) refers to a 1992 Pouilly-Fuissé as "the nectar of the Gods."

In the Season 5, Episode 1 of Frasier entitled “Frasier’s Imaginary Friend,” Frasier briefly mentions Pouilly-Fuissé when he makes a cell-phone call to an unseen character named Barnard, and says, “chill your finest bottle of Pouilly-Fuissé.”

In the Season 6, Episode 18 of Frasier entitled “Taps at the Montana,” Dr. Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) briefly mentions Pouilly-Fuissé when he says, “And then to top it all off, the Pouilly-Fuissé we ordered was a grave disappointment.”

David Rossi mentions a 2008 bottle of Pouilly-Fuisse while talking to Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds Season 10 Episode 12 titled “Anonymous”.

Minx, Season 1, Episode 4, "An exciting new chapter in the annals of erotica", Joyce goes to retrieve a drink for herself and the fireman who asks for a beer. She tells him to trust her because she has a nice Pouilly-Fuisse.

In General Hospital Season 61 Episode 164 April 30th 2024 air date, Valentin and Anna are seen drinking a glass of Pouilly-Fuissé in the metro court.

Other "Pouilly" wines
The wines of Pouilly-Fuissé should not be confused with the Sauvignon blanc-based wines of Pouilly-Fumé and the Chasselas-based Pouilly-sur-Loire, both from the area around Pouilly-sur-Loire in the Loire Valley.