📍 Languedoc

Languedoc is a protected designation of origin (AOC) for wines from the south of France. Its geographical area runs for about 200 kilometres along the Gulf of Lion, from Nîmes to the Spanish border, across the departments of Aude, Gard, Hérault and Pyrénées-Orientales. Inland it is bounded by uplands from the Cévennes to the Pyrenees: the Larzac, the Espinouse, the Montagne Noire and the Corbières massif.

The climate is Mediterranean: hot, dry summers, mild winters and rain mainly in autumn and spring. The Mistral blows in the east of the area, while the Cers and the Tramontane blow in the west. The soils vary, but are mostly poor, stony and well drained.

The appellation covers still red, rosé and white wines; about 60% of production is red, 20% rosé and 20% white. The reds are always blends. The main red grapes are Grenache, Lledoner Pelut, Mourvèdre and Syrah, with Carignan and Cinsault among the accessory varieties. The main white grapes are Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Piquepoul Blanc, Roussanne, Tourbat and Vermentino.

The name can be completed by geographical names such as Cabrières, La Méjanelle, Pézenas, Quatourze, Saint-Christol, Saint-Drézéry, Saint-Georges-d'Orques, Saint-Saturnin and Sommières. Within the area lie other appellations, including Corbières, Faugères, La Clape, Limoux, Minervois, Pic Saint-Loup, Picpoul de Pinet and Saint-Chinian. Vine growing here goes back to the Greeks, seven centuries BC. The appellation was first recognised in 1985 as Coteaux du Languedoc and has been called Languedoc since 2007.