Overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean countryside, the vineyards of Languedoc were the first planted in France around 600 BC. In addition to this long experience, the Languedoc Roussillon wines region today constitute the largest wine producing region in the world.
In southern France, Languedoc-Roussillon has many hidden treasures.
From the first century AD, the Romans built Nimes, a city conveniently located between Rome and Spain, as well as being one of the largest and most beautiful cities in Roman Gaul. The city keeps many remnants of this era such as the Arena of Nimes and the Pont du Gard. The second is part of a 50 km long monumental aqueduct, which has been placed on the World Heritage listing by UNESCO.
More than 1000 years of history separate these remnants to the construction of the medieval city of Carcassonne. The second most popular tourist site in France, the city is a medieval complex that is unique in Europe.
The history of France's winemaking regions is often over a thousand years old. But it is in the Languedoc-Roussillon region that the first vines were planted, in about the year 600 BC. In the area around Marseilles. Under Roman rule, the Marseille vineyards experienced such growth that Rome actually limited their production so as to protect the Roman vineyards.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was not until the Middle Ages that the Languedoc-Roussillon vineyards were revived through the efforts of monks.
Following this the region benefited from the creation of the port of Sete under Louis XIV and the construction of the Canal du Midi to successfully export its production to the rest of Europe.
Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest wine region in the world. The surface area use for growing vines in this region alone exceeds that of the United States or Australia!
This range entails a wide variety of soils and grape varieties. Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Carignan but also Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot are used to develop red Languedoc wines. The Languedoc wines are mostly red wines, although there are classes of white, rose, sparkling and sweet wines as well. The white wines come from a wide variety of grapes such as Muscat, Marsanne, Roussanne and many others.
In the Languedoc wines region there is only one common denominator: a scorching sun in summer accompanied frequently by very low precipitation. This results in very expressive red wines that are generous and possess strong aromas of dark berries and spices that encourage immediate pleasure.
The region is also distinguished by its natural sweet wines, particularly those of Banyuls, which are among the best in the world, thanks to Doctor Parcé, owner of the Domaine du Mas Blanc and its famous Roussillion wines.