 Like neighboring Bourgueil, the Bretons of Brittany were a significant customer for the wines of Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and by at least the 16th century the wine from the area was being described as "Breton wine".When the "Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité" (INAO) was delineating AOC regions in 1937, the commune of Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil was originally grouped with the communes of Bourgueil, Benais and Restigné under one Bourgueil AOC.But Adrien Ory, mayor of Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and one of the largest vineyard owners in the region, campaigned for a separate AOC designation for the wines from his town despite the two AOCs having essentially identical "terroir" and producing similar wines.