Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence Flashcards
Corbiere must be more than one variety
Carignan, Syrah or grenache, cinsault- always blended
Minimum time Corbiere can go on the market?
One month after harvest
Carignan
Works really well in Corbieres, opens more doors as to what you can do but leads to consistency
Languedoc and Roussillon- History and trade
Rail development helped to open up the area, supplying basic table wine with North African wine blended in the port towns before being sold. Algerian independence and joining the EU market led to an economy collapse. Poor quality vineyards removed and planted with orchards. High yielding varieties removed and some re-planted with grapes of international appeal.
Arrival of Vin de Pays legislation in the 1970’s allowed for experimentation with grape varieties and attracted trained winemakers and viticulturists from new world countries to the region. Investment continues today with 1000 estates, 285 co-operatives and 22 large negotiants.
Climate- Languedoc and Roussillon
Mediterranean, early springs, hot dry summers, long autumns and rainy winters. The Mistral and Tremontane winds can still have an affect here, cooling what would otherwise be stifling summer heat.
Soil- Languedoc and Roussillon
Range of soil types: rich in river valleys, alluvial sand in the Rhone delta, clay and gravel in the plains. Limestone is a common factor throughout all soil types.
Grape Varieties- Languedoc and Rousillon
Similar varieties to the Rhone Valley. Carignan also grown, producing robust fruity wines when grown with lower yields. Vin de Pays have opened up the grape varieties grown. Now vast plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.
Languedoc
A quarter of the total French production. Four departments; Gard, Aude, Herald and Pyrenees- Orientales. Upgrade to AC status for best areas in 1985. Vin de Pays wines from this area have been of most interest on the export markets since mid 1990’s. 66% of Vin de Pays wine production sold on the export market.
Vines grown on the plains between the Massif Central and the Mediterranean.
Fitou AC and Corbieres AC
Generally inexpensive reds blended from Carignan, Grenache and other varieties. Co-operative at Fitou has had some success with premium sector reds.
Languedoc ACs
Spicy, full bodied reds, blends with Carignan, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Superior areas within the AC, producing powerful wines are La Clape, Montpeyroux and Pic Saint Loup. Picpoul de Pinet is a white wine sub appellation, made entirely from the Piquepoul Blanc grape. Wines are high in acid with an aromatic lemon character. Local co-operatives dominates production.
Minervois AC
Similar style to Languedoc AC reds. La Livinire AC is a small high quality area with its own AC within Minervois.
Faugeres AC and Saint Chinian AC
have their own AC’s and can command very high prices.
Roussillon
Single department: Pyrenees- Orientales. Driest region in France. Major area for fortified production.
Cotes du Roussillon AC
Whole plain between Pyrenees and the sea.
Cotes du Roussillon Villages AC
Superior appellation applied to vines planted in the River Agly Valley. Red production only, higher natural alcohol than Roussillon Ac. Minimum 3 varieties in blend, Syrah and/or Mourvedre must be at least 30% of the planted varieties. Carignan is the main grape, must account for no more than 60% of the vineyard area. Cinsault and Macabeo forbidden. Resulting wine is high in acidity, deep coloured and bitter. Carbonic Maceration can be used to extract softer tannins with round fruit. Prices are low.
Limoux AC
White and red appellation in this cool, high altitude, predominately sparkling region. Muzak, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay for whites and usually blended reds of Merlot, Carignan, Malbec, Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Vin de Pays
Yields are controlled to 80ha/hl, but growers and producers have freedom of variety and style of wine. Vintage and variety to appear on the label. Considerable planting of varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Viognier.
Vin de Pays d’Oc
Covers all the Languedoc- Roussillon area. Broken down into smaller areas such as Vin de Pays Cotes Catalans. Wine must pass a strict tasting panel to qualify. Higher grade called Grand d’Oc with yield restricted to 42 hl/ha, wine must be aged and go through a more rigourous tasting than standard Vin de Pays. Recent introduction of a new three tier quality scheme, called Seduction, Style and Collection, with Collection having to pass qualitative tasting tests.
Popular as scope is broad for grape varieties and innovation, much international capital and skill invested. Large price range up to premium, often higher than local AC wine. Most important agricultural venture in the Midi, 255,000 ha in vineyard area.
Provence and Corsica- History
Ancient wine producing areas: records back to 600BC for Provence
Cotes de Provence AC
Largest AC in Provence. Vineyards planted from east of Toulon to the Massif des Maures in the north. Traditional area for rose. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah now important for red production, with some high quality wine produced. 2 main styles; light, fruity with short maceration time and bottled early or robust, oak aged with complex structure, good ageing potential.
Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence AC
Grenache for red or rose with up to 30% Carignan planted in the vineyard. Syrah, Cinsault, Counoise and Mouvedre can be blended, but must account for no more than 40% of the vineyard area.
Bandol AC
Near Toulon, steep terraced vineyards on clay, limestone and gravel. Mouvedre produces dark, tannic, full-bodied wines that require bottle ageing. Bramble fruit, meat and liquorice characters. Very small production, resulting in high prices. Some white and rose also produced.
Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhone and Vin de Pays de Vaucluse
Produce southern Rhone styles at lower prices.
Corsica
French ruled island, closer to Italy. Vineyards situated close to the coast, inland areas too mountainous.
Vin de Corse AC
Red, white and rose production. Nielluccio and Sciacarello for red production may be blended with mainland French varieties. 50% of blend from Nielluccio, Sciacarello and Grenache. Nielluccio must take at least 33% of the vineyard space. Vermentino (Rolle in France) for whites. At least 75% of a blend, with Ugni Blanc the remainder.
Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grown but permitted only for Vin de Pays de I’lle de Beaute production.
Picpoul de Pinet
Popular dry, aromatic languedoc white given its own aoc in 2013, when it appropriated the name Picpoul and decreed that piquepoul be used for the variety by all other appellations. The green-gold, full-bodied, lemon-flavoured white wine is grown on about 2,400 ha/5928 acres of fairly low-lying land between Pézenas and the Bassin de Thau lagoon exclusively from Picpoul Blanc grapes. This curious speciality, one of the country’s few varietally named AOC wines, has in the post-modern age of vinification attracted new interest. Millions of tourists each summer see the well-signposted co-operative at Pinet, the most important producer of this distinctive wine and clearly visible from the main autoroute along the Mediterranean coast. The co-operative at Pomerols and some individual domaines such as Félines Jourdan have made some good examples.
la Clape
Named terroir within the languedoc aoc in southern France which can be unfairly penalized for its name in Anglophone markets. La Clape was once an island off the busy Roman port of Narbo (Narbonne). Today it is a quintessentially Mediterranean coastal mountain just south of Narbonne which has one of France’s highest average annual totals of sunshine. On the clay-limestone southern slopes of the rocky massif, the climate is heavily influenced by the sea. Elevations of vineyards can vary by as much as 200 m/980 ft. La Clape is particularly well suited to growing bourboulenc, which must represent at least 40% of the grapes used in the production of La Clape’s iodine-scented white wines in which Grenache Blanc and a little Viognier is also allowed. Most of the wine produced from about 1,000 ha/2,500 acres of vineyard within the appellation is full-blooded red, however, virtually indistinguishable from maritime corbières, with Ch de la Négly a notable producer. The extensive l’Hospitalet domaine is headquarters of the dynamic Languedoc négociant Gérard Bertrand.
Faugeres
Reliable appellation in the languedoc region in southern France. A total of 1,890 ha/4,668 acres of vineyard, mainly at relatively high elevations (often well above 250 m/820 ft) on schistous foothills of the Cévennes, look down on the plains around Béziers. The Faugères appellation vineyards are planted with quintessentially Mediterranean grape varieties to produce big, southern reds that taste like a cross between the spice of the southern rhône and wild, rustic corbières to the south west. The ubiquitous Carignan, which by 2014 was limited to 40% of any blend) is being replaced by Syrah, Grenache, or its relative Lladoner Pelut, and Mourvèdre, and Cinsaut is still grown for fruit and rosés. Roussanne is encouraged in white Faugères, which since 2004 has had its own appellation based on at least 30% of this variety with Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, and Vermentino. This is one of the Languedoc’s distinctive and consistent appellations.
St Chinian
Good-value, distinctive appellation in the languedoc in southern France which extends over spectacular, mountainous terrain in the foothills of the Cévennes between the minervois and faugères appellations (see map under languedoc). Most wine is characterful red but some fresh, dry rosé and a small volume of increasingly interesting whites are also made. The small town of St-Chinian itself is in the middle of the zone, which extends upwards and northwards as far as Vieussan, including Berlou and its respected co-operative, whose wines are sometimes labelled Berloup. A steady total of about 2,800 ha/6,900 acres is dedicated to the production of appellation wine within the zone, which can be divided into two very different sections. In the northern zone around Berlou and Roquebrun, which earned their own appellations St-Chinian Berlou and St-Chinian Roquebrun for red wines in 2005, vines at around 200 m/656 ft elevation grow on arid schists and yield low quantities of extremely sharply etched wines with distinct minerality. In the southern zone closer to St-Chinian itself, the (sometimes purple) clays and limestone, typically at about 100 m, tend to result in fuller, softer wines. Carignan vines, limited to 30% of any red, are being gradually replaced by Syrah, Grenache, Lladoner Pelut, and Mourvèdre. Grenache Blanc, with Marsanne, Roussanne and some Vermentino are the main white grapes. Many producers here also grow other varieties with which to make some excellent igp wines.
Minervois
Improving western languedoc appellation for characterful reds, generally suppler than those from corbières to the south, together with some rosé and a little white, whose total vineyard area had fallen to 3,245 ha/8,015 acres produced on varied inland terrain in the Aude and eastern Hérault départements (see map under languedoc). The appellation takes its name from the village of Minerve, scene of one of the bloodiest sieges of the Cathar sect in the 13th century. There is considerable archaeological evidence that the Romans practised viticulture here. Cicero records the dispatch of wine to Rome from the pagus minerbensis, and La Livinière, the first Minervois village to be accorded its own appellation, Minervois-La Livinière, is said to take its name from cella vinaria, Latin for ‘wine cellar’. More recently, the vineyards of Minervois were invaded first by phylloxera and then by the carignan vine, which is no longer permitted in AOC wines. Since 1985, when Minervois was granted appellation contrôlée status, strenuous efforts have been made to upgrade overall quality, and a number of both co-operatives and individual wine producers have made considerable investments both in winery equipment and in planting better vine varieties. Mourvèdre and Syrah must account for at least 20% of the blend, with Grenache also Lladoner Pelut allowed to make up a 60% minimum. Various combinations of Bourboulenc, Rolle (Vermentino), Maccabéo, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc are responsible for the varied quality and character of white Minervois, the first two being best suited to the south eastern part of the appellation closest to the Mediterranean, while the last two perform best in western, Atlantic-influenced sites. White Minervois is increasingly aromatic and sophisticated. The appellation can be divided into five climatic zones: Les Côtes Noires in the far north west on the coolest, most Atlantic-influenced foothills of the Montagne Noire; La Clamoux on alluvial terraces and flatter land in the south west towards Carcassonne; La Zone Centrale in the middle of the appellation at an elevation of around 400 m; La Causse on high land and poor, dry soils in the north east where yields are lowest; and Les Serres in the warmest, most mediterranean south east. In the extreme north east of the region, some of France’s rarest and most delicate vin doux naturel is produced: muscat de st-jean-de-minervois.
Corbieres
Quantitatively significant appellation in the Languedoc region of southern France producing some excitingly dense, herby red wines, a small amount of rosé, and a little increasingly well-made white wine from just over 10,000 ha/25,000 acres of vineyard in 2012. The terrain here in the Pyrenean foothills (see map under languedoc) is extremely varied, and so hilly that it is difficult to generalize about soil types and topography. In recognition of this, the appellation was in the 1990s subdivided into 11 so-called terroirs, although not without a certain amount of local dissent. The basic distinctions in this southernmost corner of the Aude département are between coastal zones influenced by the Mediterranean, the northern strip on the Montagne d’Alaric (some of which has more in common with minervois), the westernmost vineyards, which are cooled both by Atlantic influence and by their elevation, and the rugged, mountainous terrain in the south and centre in which the fitou appellation forms two enclaves. Vineyards in the south west of the appellation are as high as 300 to 450 m (980–1,500 ft) above sea level, and harvest may not take place until well into October, while those in the Sigean area are right on the coast and can vary enormously in elevation but the high average temperatures and very low annual rainfall are partly compensated for by the marine influence. One of the most admired terroirs is that of Boutenac in the hills south of Lézignan, which has particularly poor soils on a limestone base in what is known locally as Corbières’ ‘golden triangle’. In 2005, Corbières Boutenac was granted its own 150-ha subappellation for wines that, unusually, must contain between 30 and 50% Carignan and satisfy certain minimum ageing periods. With terrain this extensive and this varied, it is perhaps hardly surprising that progress within the appellation can become enmired in local politics. In AOC Corbières, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, and Lladoner Pelut must represent at least half the blend in all red wines, and the once-dominant Carignan may not make up more than half. Some producers particularly value the spice and concentration of wine from old vines, which in Corbières effectively means old Carignan. Warmer parts of Corbières can ripen Mourvèdre on a regular basis. Plantings of Cinsaut, useful along with Syrah for rosé, are more limited here than in neighbouring Minervois. Picquepoul Noir, Terret, and Grenache Gris are also allowed in red and rosé Corbières with some of the white wine grapes allowed in the rosé. White Corbières, a rare but often refreshing dry wine, is made principally from Bourboulenc, Maccabéo/Macabeu, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Vermentino, providing an interesting aromatic palette for the increasing number of producers prepared to experiment with superior white winemaking. co-operatives, Embrès-et-Castelmaure and Tuchan/Mont Tauch being particularly quality conscious, dominate the region, but there are many seriously ambitious individual estates offering keenly priced wines with considerable individuality.
Fitou
Red wine appellation on 2,204 ha/5,444 acres of languedoc vineyard in two enclaves within the corbières zone where it meets roussillon (see map under languedoc). When the boundaries of this, the first dry red wine appellation of Languedoc, were drawn up in 1948, local politics prevailed and Fitou has remained with, apparently, a great tract of Corbières bisecting it. The clay-limestone soils of Fitou Maritime, i.e. coastal Fitou, are quite different from the arguably potentially more interesting schists of Fitou Montagneux, ie mountainous Fitou, 40 minutes’ drive inland—the purity in the wines of Domaine Bertrand-Bergé argue convincingly for the virtues of a mountain climate. The low-yielding vines on the infertile soils of these Pyrenean foothills are capable of great expression, but the appellation underperformed in the 1970s and 1980s. The region is even more in the grip of co-operatives than its northern neighbour, with the Mont Tauch co-operative in Tuchan, the oldest in the Languedoc, responsible for half of all production and, for a while, performing better than many individual producers. In 2014, however, Mont Tauch narrowly avoided brankruptcy and reverted to supplying bulk wine rather than bottling and marketing their own wine. The traditional varieties Carignan and Grenache must make up 60% of the final blend with a minimum of 20% of each (this is one of the few appellations that demands a minimum Carignan component). A minimum of 10% of Syrah (better suited to Fitou Montagneux) and/or Mourvèdre (which thrives in Fitou Maritime) must be also included in the blend. The two territories demarcated for Fitou may also produce rivesaltes and muscat de rivesaltes.
Coteaux d’ Aix en Provence
Mainly dry rosé and some red wines are made, in very varied but often spectacularly situated vineyards among the lavender and garrigue of provence. The arguably too-extensive area entitled to this appellation stretches from the frontier with Les baux de provence subappellation created in 1995 in the west as far as the coteaux varois, and includes elevations varying from nearly sea level to over 400 m with considerable temperature variability. A growing total of nearly 4,000 ha/10,000 acres of vineyards produce serviceable if generally unsophisticated reds and pale pink wines for early, often local, consumption. co-operatives are relatively important here, but a number of individual estates such as Chx Calissanne, Revelette, and a revitalized Vignelaure are trying to establish a distinctive style from Grenache with Cinsaut, Mourvèdre, the local Counoise, Syrah, Carignan, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Neither of the last two may make up more than 30% of a blend. A little white is made from a wide range of southern, and south west france, grape varieties. Organic viticulture has established a significant hold in this arid, mediterranean climate.
Bandol
The most serious wine of provence, typically a deep-flavoured, lush red blend dominated by the mourvèdre grape. Like châteauneuf-du-pape, Bandol produces quintessentially Mediterranean red wines which are easy to appreciate in youth despite their longevity. The appellation is named after the port from which they were once shipped all over the world. Bandol is now a Mediterranean resort town with little to offer the wine tourist, and the vineyards are on south-facing terraces well inland called locally restanques. As in the smaller appellation of cassis just along the coast, the vines are protected from the cold north winds, but have to fight property developers for their right to continued existence. A total of about 1,400 ha were cultivated in the early 2000s but in 2011 fewer than 600 ha/1,482 acres were in production, perhaps partly because of property development. This particularly well-favoured southern corner is one of the few parts of France in which Mourvèdre, the characteristic grape of Bandol, can be relied upon to ripen. Other dark-berried varieties grown include Grenache and Cinsaut, much used for the local herby rosés which can account for about three bottles of Bandol in every four some years, together with strictly limited additions of Syrah and Carignan. A small quantity of white Bandol is made from Bourboulenc, Clairette, and Ugni Blanc with a maximum of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, but little of it escapes the region’s fish restaurants. Winemaking techniques are traditional but evolving. All reds must have at least 18 months in cask and, thanks to the high proportion of Mourvèdre, at least 50%, reduction is a constant threat. Mechanical harvesting is banned. Domaine Tempier is one of the few domaines to have a well-established market outside France but the likes of Domaines de la Bégude and de la Tour du Bon, and Chx La Rouvière, Pibarnon, Pradeaux, and Vannières have all made fine wines.
Rolle
Officially accepted alternative southern French name for the increasingly popular vermentino used traditionally in bellet and parts of Languedoc-Roussillon. dna profiling has shown it to be distinct from rollo.
Languedoc- Roussillon: 523,852 acres / 212,000 hectares
Grenache Blend: The Languedoc-Roussillon regions excel at blended red wines, which include varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Imagine bold red raspberry, licorice, and grilled plum with a somewhat herbal oregano kick. Wines labeled with Corbières, Saint-Chinian, Fitou, Côtes du Roussillon Villages and Collioure are all great examples of Languedoc-Roussillon red blends.
Sparkling Limoux: The sparkling wine region of Limoux is said to have been the original inspiration for Champagne! You’ll find Crémant de Limoux commonly uses Chardonnay for a lean, dry “brut” style, while Blanquette de Limoux depends on Mauzac, a regional grape, for baked apple notes.
Carignan: One of the most underrated red grapes of the Languedoc-Roussillon, Carignan offers up notes of dried cranberry, raspberry, licorice, and cured meats. Look for old vine (vieilles vigne) Carignan from Côtes Catalanes, Faugères, and Minervois.
Fortified Sweet Red Wine: A succulent sweet wine bursting with raspberry, cinnamon, and caramel notes. These wines have been known to age for 100+ years. Look for Banyuls and Maury.
Provence (108,051 acres / 43,728 hectares)
Rosé: The most productive region for rosé in all of France (if not the world), Provence delivers boatloads of delicate, onion-skin colored dry rosé wines with notes of strawberry, watermelon, and crunchy celery. Check out Côtes de Provence for great quality.
Mourvèdre: The tiny region of Bandol produces a deeply black red wine with notes of black plum, roasted meats, and Provençal herbs. Wines easily age for 10–20 years.
Languedoc
France’s best-value, most fluid wine region and certainly its most important in terms of volume of wine produced, and in terms of the importance of viticulture to the region’s economy. The Languedoc takes its name from a time when its inhabitants spoke Occitan, the language in which oc (rather than oil) is the word for ‘yes’, hence langue d’oc. It comprises the three central southern départements of the Aude, Hérault, and Gard, a sea of little other than vines just inland from the beaches of the Mediterranean. For administrative purposes, the Languedoc is often bracketed with the region to its immediate south, as in Languedoc-Roussillon, although the roussillon has a perceptibly different character, and is better equipped to replace vines with the other fruit crops it has for long cultivated. Between them at the turn of the century a total of 31,541 vignerons cultivated 241,537 ha/596,596 acres of vineyard, a quarter of all French vines. (It had represented a third a decade earlier.) But strenuous eu-inspired vine pull schemes aimed at reducing Europe’s wine surplus were specifically targeted at France’s deep south with considerable success. By 2010 just 19,752 vignerons grew 192,286 ha/474,946 acres of vines, still more than a quarter of all French vines but the plains of the Languedoc have been transformed, with other crops widely replacing vines. Despite its quantitative importance, Languedoc-Roussillon produces only about an eighth of France’s aoc wines. For many years, the Languedoc’s only appellation was Fitou, but in 1985 Corbières, Minervois, and the catch-all appellation Coteaux du Languedoc were elevated from vdqs to AC status and others have followed. Indeed the taxonomy of Languedoc wines has been revised several times in recent years, and the Coteaux du Languedoc AOC replaced by languedoc aoc. A high proportion of the vast area technically included in these AC zones is dedicated to non-appellation wine, however, either because the encépagement is outside the appellation specifications, or because the vigneron continues to be more interested in quantity than quality. The Languedoc is still by far the principal producer of vsig, as well as producing nearly 60% of France’s intermediate igp, much of it labelled regionally and, typically, varietally, as Pays d’Oc. In a very real sense the Languedoc is France’s most anarchic wine region. Not only is it the only one in which vignerons still take direct and often violent action in protest at the organization of their sector of the wine business, a phenomenon all too visible in the 2000s, it is also the one in which wine producers are most obviously dissatisfied with the detail of the, admittedly relatively recent, appellation laws. Some important producers routinely ignored the AOC system completely and put most of their effort into making high-quality IGP wines. Not much more than 10% of the Languedoc’s wine output was white in the early 2010s. The best Languedoc whites, after a decidedly oaky phase, have become increasingly fine and interesting. The small proportion of dry rosé is mainly for local consumption. A substantial quantity of vin doux naturel is made (see muscat), and limoux is the Languedoc’s centre of sparkling winemaking. The Languedoc is still principally a source of red wine, however, a typical representative being no longer a thin, pale remnant of the region’s past as a bulk wine supplier but a dense, exciting, increasingly supple ambassador of some of France’s wildest countryside.
Languedoc- History
Vines were planted as early as 125 bc on the hills near the Roman colony of Narbo, modern Narbonne, which today produce Corbières, Minervois, and Languedoc AOC. Narbonne was then an important Roman port, protected by what was then the island of La clape. Cargoes would be taken up river as far as Carcassonne and then transported overland to join the garonne and thence to the Roman legions in Aquitaine. The hinterland of Narbonne and Béziers came to produce so much wine that it was exported to Ancient rome, although the edict of domitian was designed to put a stop to this.It was not until the Middle Ages, under the auspices of the Languedoc’s monks and monasteries, that viticulture once again thrived (although today only the Abbaye de Valmagne retains its wine-producing role). Already the University of montpellier was established and arnaldus de villanova oversaw several important developments for wine and spirit production there. The development of greatest potential significance for the Languedoc and its wines was the late-17th-century construction of the Canal du Midi, which connected the Mediterranean with the Atlantic. The Bordelais were by now so experienced at protectionism, however (see haut pays, for example), that the wine producers of the Languedoc failed to benefit substantially from this new distribution network until the end of the 18th century. Much more profitable were the efforts of the dutch wine trade in the late 17th century to develop northern European markets for picardan, a sweet white wine made from Clairette and Picquepoul grapes that was well known in Holland by 1680, and subsequently for eaux-de-vie. The port of Sète was established in 1666 and became particularly important for exports to england and the netherlands, Narbonne having long since silted up. Sweet wines were also produced, notably a dried-grape wine made from Muscat grown at frontignan, whose inhabitants insist that it was as a result of a visit by a Marquis de Lur-Saluces to Frontignan after the great frost of 1709 that Ch d’yquem became a sweet wine property, and that their straight-sided bottle was adopted for bordeaux. By the mid 19th century the vineyards of the Languedoc could be divided into the hillside vineyards, vines planted on gravelly terraces at mid elevation (roughly approximating to the majority of modern Languedoc appellations), and vines, mainly aramon and terret grapes, planted on the plains for distillation into brandy. In 1855, the Languedoc’s fortunes were to change for ever, as a result of its first railway connection, via Lyons, with the important centres of population in the north. A link via Bordeaux was opened the next year. Between 1850 and 1869, average annual wine production nearly quadrupled in the Hérault département. The arrival of phylloxera could hardly have been worse timed, but, thanks to feverish experimentation and the eventual adoption of grafting, as well as hybrids and some of the new bouschet crosses, the Languedoc vineyard was the first to be reconstituted after the devastations of this American louse. By the end of the 19th century, the Languedoc became France’s principal wine supplier, producing 44% of France’s entire wine production, from 23% of the country’s total vignoble. This superficial success was at some cost, however. Dr guyot had in 1867 warned against the increasing influence of vine varieties and practices designed to produce quantity rather than quality, and against the over-industrialization of the Languedoc wine trade. By the turn of the century, the plains of the Languedoc, the Hérault particularly, were being milked of thin, light, pale red that needed blending with the much more robust produce of new colonial vineyards in algeria to yield a commercially acceptable drink. France had sown the seeds of her (continued) dependence on wine imports. Such was the extent of commercial interference in the French table wine market, including widespread adulteration and fraud, that prices plummeted and France’s social crisis of 1907 provoked what were merely the first in a long series of wine-related riots. Since then the vignerons of the Languedoc, typically but by no means always members of one of the region’s hundreds of co-operatives, many of them formed in the 1930s and most now part of a larger group, have been some of the world’s most politicized. Their sheer number has given them political power, but the fall in demand for basic vin de table and difficulty in selling even the keenly priced vin de pays, which took its place as the Languedoc’s principal product, led to increasing frustration among growers. Land here is relatively inexpensive, which has drawn a wide range of new investors, both producers with an established record in a more famous wine region and complete outsiders keen to set up lifestyle wineries.
Languedoc- Climate and Geography
The great majority of the Languedoc’s vines (and virtually all of those which have been ripped out recently) are or were planted on the flat, low-lying alluvial plain, particularly in the southern Hérault and Gard. In the northern Hérault and western Aude, however, vines may be planted several hundred metres above sea level, in the foothills of the Cévennes and the Corbières Pyrenean foothills, sometimes at quite an angle and on very varied soils which can include gravels and limestone. The climate in all but the far western limits of the Languedoc (where Atlantic influence is apparent) is definitively mediterranean and one of the major viticultural hazards is drought. Annual rainfall is often as little as 400 mm/15.6 in by the coast. July and August temperatures often exceed 30 °C/86 °F; such rain as does fall tends to fall in the form of localized deluges. wind is common throughout the growing season, with the tramontane bringing cool air from the mountains.
Languedoc- Viticulture
The Languedoc is the land of the proud peasant farmer. The size of the average holding is small, and usually much divided between parcels inherited from various different branches of the family. Basic, straggling bush vines still predominate, although an increasing proportion of vines, especially the newer international varieties, are being trained on wires. irrigation is theoretically permitted only within strictly specified limits, and in practice only the best and the worst producers tend to have any form of available irrigation system. The flatter, larger vineyards lend themselves to mechanical harvesting but their parcellation, and ripping out, has slowed the inevitable invasion. The region is by no means free of fungal diseases and some sprayings are usually necessary.
Languedoc- Vine Varieties
The dominant late-20th-century vine variety carignan has been definitively routed by the vine pull scheme of the eu, and by 2011 was only the third most planted variety in the Languedoc after Syrah and then Grenache Noir. Merlot, grown mainly for IGP wines, covered almost as much ground as Carignan, with Cabernet Sauvignon, not nearly as much at home here as Merlot, some way behind. The ever-changing regulations of most red wine appellations in the Languedoc specify various combinations of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre with declining proportions of Carignan, and most often, usually as minor blending ingredients, Cinsaut (especially good for rosés and fruity reds) and the Grenache relative lladoner, or Lledoner, Pelut. By far the most planted white wine grape, though even less common than Cabernet Sauvignon, is Chardonnay, used for both varietal IGP wines and the still and sparkling wines of Limoux. Sauvignon Blanc is the next most planted and Viognier fourth most popular white wine grape—further signs of how important international varieties are to white wine production here. Each white wine appellation has a different cocktail of preferred ingredients from a palette of traditional pale-skinned Languedoc varieties which include Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Maccabéo, Picquepoul Blanc, and Vermentino, although Roussanne, and Marsanne are also specified occasionally.
Languedoc- Winemaking
With some high-profile exceptions, winery equipment and techniques are still relatively unsophisticated in the Languedoc, where selling prices have rarely been high enough to justify major investment. destemming equipment, for example, was widely regarded as a luxury until this century, and new oak barrels beyond the means of most producers. (In any case, the fruit is so intense in many red wines that, like the same varieties in the southern Rhône, they do not necessarily benefit from new, small oak.) The great majority of Languedoc wine is made in one of the co-operative cellars that still dominate production and whose will to make good-quality wine varies considerably. Fermentation and élevage typically take place in large concrete cuves, although stainless steel is slowly invading the region. Partly in an effort to tame the natural astringency of Carignan, full or partial carbonic maceration was for long the most common red winemaking technique. bottling often takes place at a merchant’s cellar rather than on the premises where the wine was made. The wine container most frequently seen by the consumer in the region is probably the road tanker (a high proportion of the locals buy their wine in bulk rather than bottle). For more specific information, see the individual appellations cabardès, clairette du languedoc, corbières, faugères, fitou, languedoc aoc, limoux, malepère, minervois, Picpoul de Pinet, and st-chinian, and also the vin de liqueur cartagène, and various muscat vins doux naturels.
Roussillon
Although first encountered by some outsiders as a suffix to languedoc, has a quite distinct identity, both cultural and geographical. Its inhabitants are Catalan rather than French or Occitan, with a history rich in Spanish influence, particularly between the 13th and 17th centuries, when it was ruled first from Mallorca and then from Aragón. They identify closely with the inhabitants of Spanish cataluña just across the Pyrenees and many speak Catalan. Quite unlike the flat coastal plains of the Languedoc, Roussillon’s topography can be guessed at by the fact that today it is effectively the département called Pyrénées-Orientales, the eastern section of the Pyrenees, a mountain range so high that much of it remains snow-covered throughout the summer. Vines and olives are two of the rare agricultural crops that can thrive in the tortured, arid valleys of the Agly, Têt, and Tech—although the lower, flatter land by the coast is today an important source of soft fruit. The climate is France’s sunniest, with an average of 325 days’ sunshine a year, frequent extremely strong winds accentuating the grape-drying process in summer. Wine styles and techniques as well as grape varieties have much in common with neighbouring Spain, as do the relatively low yields. Despite the prevailing temperatures, Roussillon’s cellars were some of France’s last to install efficient temperature control, and new oak arrived relatively recently, but the region has been making up for lost time and is now home to some of France’s most exciting reds and whites. Viticulture was probably introduced to the region via the Greek establishment of Marseilles in the 7th century bc and developed by the Romans. It seems highly likely that the muscat vine was the first to be introduced, in an effort to ape the popular sweet wines of the aegean islands. In the early 13th century, arnaldus de villanova is credited with inventing mutage, a process thought to have been applied particularly to the region’s whites made from muscat blanc, Malvoisie (vermentino), and macabeu. The rivesaltes region had certainly earned an important reputation for its Muscat by the 14th century, which probably pre-dated that of the Languedoc’s frontignan. Sweetness was often concentrated by leaving Muscat grapes to shrivel on the vine, a practice that continued at least until the late 19th century (see dried-grape wines) by which time a market for the wines had developed in northern France and red versions began to be made from grenache noir. Roussillon became the world’s foremost producer of vins doux naturels, with banyuls and to a lesser extent maury eventually overtaking Rivesaltes in réclame if not volume (see also grand roussillon). The wines proved particularly useful for the French army since, with their high sugar and alcohol, they were so much more stable than table wines. A good 70 million bottles of Rivesaltes were sold each year in the mid 20th century. But this specialization was to be its downfall for much of the 20th century when strong, sweet wines were decidedly unfashionable (and relatively expensive to produce because of the ageing required). The region’s table wines, rather Spanish in terms of their depth of colour and alcohol, were regarded as useful only for blending, particularly with the lighter wines of the Languedoc, which has about five times Roussillon’s area under vine. Annual early-21st-century sales of Rivesaltes are just 3 million bottles. Awarded appellation contrôlée status as recently as 1977, Côtes du Roussillon has been a name in search of an image outside the region in which it is, with the exception of collioure and the much more recent extension of the maury aoc, the sole appellation for table wines. Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres, for wines made in the south of the département, gained its own appellation in 2004. Côtes du Roussillon, grown on 4,817 ha/11,898 acres of the département’s total vine plantings of about 27,200 ha in 2012, can be white and especially rosé as well as red, but the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages appellation (2,592 ha) that theoretically designates the region’s finest wines is only for red wines made in the northern, hillier third of the region just south of corbières and fitou. The villages of caramany, latour-de-france, lesquerde, and tautavel may append their names to the aoc Côtes de Roussillon. (See map under languedoc.) The best reds, as geography suggests, tend to be like a Spanish rendering of Corbières. Côtes du Roussillon and Côtes du Roussillon-Villages reds must be made from at least three of Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, with Carignan more strictly limited than the rest. Cinsaut and Grenache’s relative Lledoner Pelut is also allowed. Grenache Gris takes the place of Cinsaut for the rosés. The most-planted varieties in Roussillon are, in descending order, Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Carignan. Next most planted are Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria, grown traditionally for muscat de rivesaltes but increasingly made as dry igp wines. The principal grape varieties for the relatively rare dry white Côtes du Roussillon are Grenache Blanc, Macabeu, and Tourbat (torbato) known locally as Malvoisie du Roussillon. Roussillon dry whites, with their relatively low acidity, may be more difficult to make successfully, but they are also more distinctive and a much wider range of grape varieties than those embraced by the Côtes du Roussillon rules is grown. Like the most ambitious reds, many of Roussillon’s finest whites come from the upper reaches of the three valleys and are sold as igp Côtes Catalanes. As for Languedoc reds, carbonic maceration has been much employed to counter Carignan’s inherent astringency but more traditional vinification techniques are increasingly employed on the nobler varieties. The reds are robust, rarely subtle, but good value. co-operatives still dominate mass production but dozens of incomers from other French regions and other countries have invested in the potential of the schists, limestone, gneiss, and granite of these sunny valleys—no matter that they don’t have a specific appellation to call their own. A few producers, especially co-operatives on the coastal plain around Rivesaltes, have tried their luck with such international varieties as Chardonnay and Merlot, although they ripen so early it can be difficult to preserve acidity in the first and fruit concentration in the second. These wines are also usually labelled IGP Côtes Catalanes, just to confuse things. IGP Côte Vermeille was created in the early 21st century for wines made close to the coast around Collioure and Banyuls. The vine-growers of Roussillon have been some of France’s least content with the details of their appellation regulations, which continue to evolve. There can be considerable scepticism about a system devised as far away as Paris and administered from Brussels, especially among those who identify so closely with the inhabitants of Barcelona.
Provence
Region with considerable potential in the far south east of France (see map under france) whose associations with tourism and hedonism have perhaps focused too much attention on its relatively expensive rosés. The precise period during which viticulture was introduced to the region is disputed. Certainly it appears unlikely that the Phocaeans, Greeks from Asia Minor, found vines when they founded Massilia (Marseilles) in about 600 bc. It is likely, however, that the Provincia of Ancient gaul produced its own wines under the influence of classical rome (although it is not certain that it preceded Narbo, or Narbonne, in the languedoc as a wine producer). See france for more details. The region was much fought over, being under the influence in successive eras of the Saracens, Carolingians (see charlemagne), the Holy Roman Empire, the counts of Toulouse, the Catalans, René of anjou, and the House of savoy. For much of the 19th century it belonged to sardinia. At the end of the 19th century, Provençal viticulture was nearly killed by the phylloxera louse, but was given a new lease of life by the arrival of a railway link with northern Europe. As a result of its rich cultural heritage, Provence enjoys a particularly distinctive range of vine varieties, which show various historical influences from Italy, notably Sardinia. No fewer than 13 varieties are allowed in Côtes de Provence, for example, including particularly Cinsaut, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and tibouren although the indigenous dark-berried Calitor (known in Provençal as Pécoui Touar) and Barbaroux are being phased out. Grenache is by far the most planted variety in Provence, followed by Cinsaut in the Var in the east (rosé country), and Syrah in Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhône in the west where Provence meets the southern Rhône. The climate here is France’s most mediterranean, with an average of 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, and less than 700 mm/27 in annual rainfall, which is concentrated in spring and autumn. Winters are mild, but usually allow full vine dormancy. The greatest climatological threat is wind, in particular the famous mistral, a cold wind from the north. Proximity to the sea and careful vineyard siting on southern expositions can offer some protection. It has the advantage of minimizing the risk of fungal diseases, and Provence is particularly suitable for organic viticulture. The magic attached to such names as the Côte d’Azur, St-Tropez, and Provence in general may have increased urban development, and pushed up land prices in habitable parts of the region, but it has also attracted outsiders prepared to make significant investments in vine-growing and winemaking, thereby raising standards overall.
Cote de Provence
The 20,000 ha/50,000 acres of vineyard is by far the most significant appellation in Provence, although the sites vary enormously. The appellation applies to a large part of the Var département (other than the enclave entitled to the Coteaux Varois appellation) from the subalpine hills above Draguignan, cooled by the influence of the mountains to the north, to the coast at St-Tropez, the epitome of a Mediterranean wine zone. But it also includes pockets of hotter terrain between Cassis and Bandol, and land immediately south and east of the Palette appellation near Aix-en-Provence. The appellation even encompasses a tiny isolated area of vines at Villars-sur-Var high up in the mountains 40 km/25 miles north of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes département. About four-fifths of production is of pale pink dry rosé, which seems to find a growing local market almost regardless of quality. There is renewed interest in producing ‘serious’ rosé, however, with a distinctive new style combining flavour with a fashionably pale hue, and some producers even using a limited amount of oak maturation. The best really do seem to have a special affinity with the garlic- and oil-based cuisine of Provence, particularly aïoli. Much of it is sold in a special ‘skittle’ bottle; almost all of it should be consumed as young and as cool as possible. Cinsaut and Grenache are typically used particularly for rosé, but Tibouren can add real interest to a blend. The focus of attention for a new generation of serious wine producers in this appellation, however, is red wine, which accounts for just 15% of production. Great efforts have been made to replace the prolific Carignan vine with Grenache, Syrah, Cinsaut, Mourvèdre, and sometimes Tibouren. An increasing number of producers, especially in the coastal sector, are paying as much attention to their white wines, which may be made from various permutations of Clairette, Sémillon, Ugni Blanc, and Vermentino, albeit in much smaller volumes. Special named subappellations, for reds and rosés, include Fréjus, La Londe, Notre-Dame des Anges Pierrefeu, and Ste-Victoire.
Algeria
Was one of the world’s leading wine producers in the 1930s when annual production of wine and wine-related products averaged 22 million hl/550 million gal, much of it exported to France, of which it was then a colony. Despite its turbulent recent history and strong islamic influence, it is now increasing wine production by about 10% a year once more. According to oiv figures for 2011, Algeria made just 627,000 hl/16.5 million gal of wine, from 77,000 ha/190,000 acres of vineyard. New initiatives, including a 10,000 ha/24,700 acre replanting programme, were begun in 1994.
Algeria- History
In the late 1950s, France depended heavily on Algerian wine to provide its everyday blended red (and some smarter wines) with strength, colour, and concentration—all of them attributes entirely lacking in the aramon then grown so prolifically in the languedoc. Together with neighbouring morocco and tunisia, Algeria accounted for two-thirds of international wine trade in the 1950s. Although vine-growing was practised in pre-colonial Algeria, and indeed flourished in classical times, it was the French phylloxera crisis of the 1870s that was to convert the agriculture of this North African colony to vineyards (although there had been a certain influx of wine-growers from Baden in the mid 19th century—see german history). In the late 19th century, Algeria was so successfully developed as the prime alternative source for France’s voracious wine drinkers that Algeria’s total viticultural area grew from 16,688 ha/41,240 acres in 1872 to 110,042 ha/271,910 acres in 1890, largely thanks to settlers whose own European vineyards had been devastated by phylloxera, which eventually reached Algeria. Vineyards reached their maximum extent of 400,000 ha/988,400 acres in 1938. By then viticulture had shaped Algerian colonial society and by the year of independence, 1962, a dozen crus were accorded the honour of official vdqs recognition by the French. To the European vineyard owners living in Algeria, the so-called pieds noirs, or ‘black feet’, it gave economic and political power; for non-Europeans it provided valuable employment, but also dependence as the wine trade more than anything else integrated the colony with metropolitan France. By the start of Algeria’s war of independence in the mid 1950s, viticulture was still the leading sector of the colonial economy, accounting for half of Algeria’s exports by value, and in some regions had acquired monocultural status. At Algerian independence in 1962 nearly a million French settlers left, as well as a sizeable army of occupation. Algeria’s domestic wine market promptly collapsed and the inappropriateness of an Islamic country’s heavy economic reliance on wine production became an immediate problem. The mass exodus of European technical skills adversely affected both quality and productivity. Most vineyards passed into a form of collective agriculture as total vineyard and, especially, total wine production began to decline. This posed economic problems as by the mid 1960s wine was still Algeria’s second export commodity, after the country’s burgeoning oil industry, and viticulture still provided half the man-days worked in the modern, commercialized sector of agriculture. Marketing problems soon emerged after independence. France immediately reduced its imports of Algerian wine from 14.6 million hl/385 million gal in 1962 (about a fifth of France’s own total production) to only 6.8 million hl/179 million gal in 1963. The USSR’s agreement to buy 5 million hl/132 million gal a year between 1969 and 1975 eased these marketing difficulties somewhat but the agreed (barter) price represented less than half the prevailing world market rate. Negotiations with the EU resulted in reduced quantities of Algerian wine allowed into Europe. These problems prompted various schemes in the late 1960s for the reconversion and reconstitution of Algeria’s uneconomically ageing vineyards. The essential problem was, however, that few replacement crops such as cereals could match viticulture’s employment opportunities. By the early 21st century total vineyard area had shrunk to 65,000 ha/160,000 acres, about an eighth of the 1930s vignoble, with a growing proportion used for table grapes rather than wine, about 60% in 2002, so that wine production levels have fallen even more drastically than vineyard area. The OIV estimates that the vineyard total is rising once more although abandoned vineyards and wineries, lower yields, and lower prices have combined to make the relict Algerian wine industry a shadow of its former self.
Algeria- Geography
Western Algeria accounts for over 65% of the area under vines, notably the districts of Aïn Temouchent, Mascara, Mostaganem, Sidi Bel Abbès, and Tlemcen. Médéa, Aïn Defla, and western Mitidja grow vines in the centre of the country, while El Tarf is on the border with tunisia in the east. Winters are mild, summers are hot, dry, and sunny. Climatically this is similar to much of southern and eastern Spain.
Algeria- Wine Industry Structure
In its heyday Algerian vineyards were planted substantially with Carignan, Alicante Bouschet, Cinsault, and Grenache and, although the vines have not been well maintained, vine age in Algeria is notably high. A replanting programme that began in the late 1990s has encouraged the planting of international varieties, including Tempranillo, for red wines. Most wine was vinified on a semi-industrial scale in wineries that favoured fast fermentations and early bottling, although its mechanization and hot-country technology at one time provided inspiration for many. The autovinification tanks once common in the douro, for example, were developed in Algeria, where they were known as the Ducellier system. The centralized ONCV long exercised a near monopoly on both the production and sale of wine, but in 2014 made only about 65% of the wine sold in Algeria in its 132 fermentation centres and 11 wineries. ONCV exported about 20% of its production but a private sector has been growing in importance. Algeria is also a substantial producer of corks, which are mainly processed in Portugal and Spain.
Midi
Common name for the south of France. Like ‘Mezzogiorno’ in Italy, it means literally ‘midday’ and refers to regions where midday is a time of extreme heat and inactivity, at least in summer. Midi is often used synonymously with languedoc and roussillon, although strictly speaking the Midi encompasses provence as well.
