Menetou-Salon, the Mecca of wine in Berry, is a commune situated 10 kilometres from the departmental road 940 coming from Bourges. On the edge of the Champagne berrichonne, its hilly surroundings already announce the more marked reliefs of the Pays Fort and the Sancerrois. A stronghold of excellent wine, Menetou also owes its fame to its castle and its princes, the current one, Pierre d'Arenberg, representing the French branch of one of the oldest families in Europe. The village owes its name to Sarlon le Riche, a descendant of the Normans who invaded the banks of the Loire in the 9th and 10th centuries. Monastère de Sarlon, "mosnastelum sarlonis" in Latin, became Menetou-Salon over time. After the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar's legions, Avaricon, city of the Bituriges, was rebuilt and became Avaricum (Bourges today). To supply water to the monumental fountains and thermal baths of the new city, aqueducts were built from the Saint-Jacques fountain located on the current territory of Menetou-Salon. In the Middle Ages, around 1450, Jacques Coeur bought the land and the castle of Menetou. In the years that follow, the Grand Argentier falls into disgrace and his property is seized by King Charles VII. The latter sold the lordship to his favourite of the moment, Antoinette de Maignelais, who became Lady of Villequier, for 8,000 gold crowns.The vineyard of Menetou-Salon, AOC since 1959, is very old if we believe the old writings and documents concerning the lordship and castellany of Menetou-Salon. It covers 465 hectares of hills. The appellation area covers 10 communes including Menetou-Salon, Aubinges, Humbligny, Morogues, Parassy, Quantilly, Saint-Céols, Soulangis, Vignoux-sous-les-Aix.The current castle of Menetou-Salon is the witness of five centuries of construction, since the fourteenth century until the major remodeling of the 1880s. These have resulted in the development of a superb princely residence (now inhabited by the current owner, the Prince and Duke of Arenberg). The original castle belonged to Jacques Cœur in 1448. This ancient castle was enlarged and embellished between 1884 and 1890 by the Parisian architect Ernest Sanson, the sculptor Margotin and the carpenter Calmel, at the request of Prince Auguste Louis Albéric d'Arenberg and his wife. It contains several fine curiosities, including a library containing 12,000 volumes, a large hall, a carbon copy of an abbey chapter house and, among the many paintings, canvases from the Flemish school.
