Do you know the difference between a lieu-dit and a hameau. Do you know what either of them means?
You might see a lieu-dit on a bottle of wine. It’s a particular place or spot that can be named after a person, place, windmill, historical event or really pretty much anything.
A hameau is a hamlet – a small inhabited area that forms part of a village. It normally applies to small groups of rural properties that are not within the main village centre. In English the word hamlet is similar although it implies a small rural settlement without a church.
A lieu-dit doesn’t necessarily have any habitation – no people living there. It can be a field, a wood, a walled vineyard.
It may have people living there but may not.
Famous lieu dits here in the Vouvray appellation are Le Clos du Bourg, Le Marigny, Les Terraces, Le Clos Renard etc.
You see them clearly on the bottle and they give a more precise location of where the vines are located that make the wine.
