Bergerac sits just west of Bordeaux, centering around its namesake principal town. Though often living in the shadow of Bordeaux, sharing grape varieties and terrain, Bergarac is producing truly fine wine, often at a great value.

Bergarac has long been thought of as Bordeaux's little brother but it is increasingly defining itself as part of southwest France and not just living in the shadow of Bordeaux. Situated on the river Dordogne in the Dordogne Département, Begerac's climate lies somewhere between maritime and continental. Its soils range from alluvial silt to clay and limestone on higher terraces. Within Bergarac there are several sub-appellations such as Montravel (lightish, dry red wines and sweet whites), Monbazillac (known for botrytized dessert wines), Pécharmenant (red wines), and Rosette (sweet wines). Because Bergarac and its sub-appellations are lesser known, many producers forgo using a sub appellation and simply use the Bergarac indication.

There are 900 winegrowers in all of Bergerac producing a total of 530,000 hectoliters, that's over 14 million gallons! Primary grapes include Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Mucadelle, and Sauvignon though the principal grape of the region is Sémillon accounting for a third of all planted vines. The most common form of Bergerac labeled wine is a red blend very similar to Bordeaux. Sweet white wines account for a quarter of all Bergarac labeled wine. (Wine/Appellations)