Wine
has been produced in Languedoc for more than 2000 years.
The Greek,
Phoenicians
and later the Romans,
established colonies to produce wine and oil here. The Roman
historian Titus Livius was lauding "wines of light"
from Limoux
two thousand years ago.
In later times the area produced high volumes of poor quality wine to blend with the strong wine imported from the North African colonies. During the 1960's the vines were replanted with the high volume, stronger, but still undistinguished Carignan grapes.
With the worldwide excess production of wine, vignerons
in the Languedoc area have been replanting with varieties
intended to produce better quality wines. Producers from
California, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere
are currently buying up vineyards because of the terroir
and the cachet of a French label.
Increasingly,
Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Cinsaut, Mourvedre, Sauvignon, Viognier and Chardonnay are used for wine making along with traditional grape varieties like Chenin blanc and Mauzac. The Languedoc has now become a respected producer of quality wines. Many domains
produce wines that command high prices. As in historical
times, production of sweet wines, such as Muscat de Lunel
and Rivesaltes continues along the coastal plains.
As you drive around the Languedoc, you will see numerous
signs reading "dégustation". The word originally
denoted the art of recognising a wine, its place of origin,
quality, and age just from the taste, but now it just means
free tasting. You can stop and taste wines at these places,
and if you like what you taste you buy direct from the producer,
sometimes at a significant discount.
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Click on the following link if you're wondering about the French concept of terroir Click on the following link for information on, click AOC wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon Click on the following link for notable vineyards in the Languedoc-Roussillon,
click vineyards in the Languedoc-Roussillon Click on the following link for information on residential courses in the Languedoc-Roussillon including, gastronomic and wine appreciation holidays Click on the following link for Languedoc Wine Statistics |
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Click on the following link for recommended books on wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon 
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Wine courses in France and elsewhere in Europe, click
on the following link to Travel-quest
(specialist travel listings) |
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The present Languedoc represents the southern half of the area covered by the ancient Roman's first province outside Italy. The northern part is now called Provence. The Roman's planted vines throughout their new province, so the Languedoc and Provence share a common wine-growing tradition stretching back over two thousand years.. For more on Provence and Provençal wine, incuding
Visiting Wineries, Tasting Classification of wines,
Wine Labels, Wine Making (Vinification), Harvesting-Vendange,
Wine Dictionary, Wine Regions, Provence Wines, Rhône
Wines, Regional Info, Wine-Region Mapsclick on the
following link which will open a new window to Beyond
the French Riviera www.beyond.fr |
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Back
to: Eating in the Languedoc.
