The Terroir

The vineyards of the Languedoc-Roussillon begin close to the city of Nimes and spread westward to the Spanish border. The region contains 5 Departments and only the Lozère does not produce wine. The other 4 are the Gard in the far east of the region, the Hérault which is sandwiched between the mountains and the Mediterranean sea, the Aude home to the medieval city of Carcassonne and the Pyrénées-Orientales which butts up to Catalonia.

The Languedoc-Roussillon is bordered by the Mediterranean to one side and mountains to the other with vines spread across the plains then sweeping up onto the hillsides towards the mountains. It’s here that you will find the area’s most exciting wines growing on a myriad of different soil types at varying altitudes and microclimates that offer superb growing conditions.

As you would expect from a Mediterranean region there is plenty of sunshine and temperatures regularly exceed 30?C. Rainfall is low and mainly happens during the winter months with the odd dramatic storm taking place during the summer. Drought is the major challenge to the vigneron and its affects are exaggerated by the almost constant wind in the region. In the Rhône they call their mighty wind the Mistral and in the Languedoc-Roussillon ours is called the Tramontane. It is a welcome wind as its drying powers help to keep the vines healthy after rainfall. These conditions create wines with high alcohol, full body with flavours of ripe fruit and some will have an earthy or mineral character from the various soil types this region boasts.

READ ON about Languedoc grape varieties >