Located to the west and northwest of the city of Mâcon on the banks of the River Saône. it covers an area of 50 by 15 km. The wine-growing region has parallel hills that run from North to South. Most vineyards can be found in the valleys between these hills. In the south, Mâcon immediately borders on the Beaujolais. Both red and white wine are made in this large region, although the latter is in the majority. Gamay is mainly used as a grape for red wines, but Pinot Noir is also found there. The Gamay in the Mâcon is mostly on limestone soils, which gives few interesting wines and the reason is that white wine is mainly produced in the region. The white grape variety is Chardonnay. AOC Mâcon is rare, most white wine reaches the level of AOC Mâcon-Supérieur (11% vol. Instead of 10% vol.), But the most common label, Mâcon-Villages, indicates that the wine comes from one of the 43 villages that claim higher quality. Mâcon produces three bottles of white Burgundy, almost all from cooperatives that also make Crémant de Bourgogne. Certain cooperative wines are decent, especially the cuvées speciales, and there is a growing number of good independent producers.