by Thierry Boeuf in The Tribune (December 11, 2001)

 

Languedoc wines far from plain

 

When writing or speaking about French wines and vineyards, people usually mention only the most famous appellations such as Bordeaux, Burgundy or Champagne. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about another one, the Côtes-du-Rhône, which are now gaining a well-deserved recognition, so I think it is time to reflect on the worlds largest vineyard.

When I say vineyard, I mean a group of appellations or regions, where you can drive through and see grapevines almost all the time even if it takes hours to complete the journey. Such is the Languedoc-Roussillon. This region follows the Mediterranean cost from the south of Avignon, which is in the Côtes-du-Rhône, westward until Perpignan and the Spanish border. It contains the greatest wineries and the largest quantities of wines in the world.

This vineyards origins can be traced to the Romans 2000 years ago but the real expansion of the vineyard dates from the second part of the 19^th century. It was the newly-installed train lines between Paris and the south of France that provided the possibility of transporting the wine from this area to the industrious and heavily populated northern regions.

At the end of the 19^th century, when the Phylloxera devastated all the European vineyards, the replantation was faster in the south because the sun makes this region a much more effective wine producing place than any other French region. The plains of Languedoc are easy to work especially around Beziers where there is so much water that rice was also grown. When driving in this area you can also see plenty castles built around 1920 when the wine generated vast wealth to the vineyard owners. The wines made at the time were table wines, and the only qualites required were a red color and alcohol, which are easy to produce when you have a great deal of sun. These cheap wines created this regions wealth but also lowered the reputation of the wine producer.

Since the 1950s the comsuption of wine in France has declined _ especially among table wines _ and these vineyards went through a crisis that led to many being pulled up.  However, it also increased wine quality.

This region is divided into two large areas : the Languedoc in the east and the Roussillon in the west. Languedoc means language of Oc, which was the second language of France in the middle-Ages. This old region had Montpellier as its capitale and in its western part around Beziers, as mentioned previously, the wine table was produced in such quantities that I would describe it an ocean of wine that was coming from the plains. On the west side, the Roussillon, which is the French part of Catalogne, has never produced as much wine as its neighbour.

Those two regions have now become appellations but, just like Bordeaux or Bungundy there are many parts of these appellations that have now become appellations in their own right. The vineyards have also moved _ for the better _  because plains containing high volumes of water are not locations for producing good wines. Now, most vineyards have been relocated where they were two centuries ago on the slopes, where they can have the sun and the coolness of the night, which helps the grapes to accumulate more aromas than if the vines had their roots in a fertile plain.

The appellations that have been created or that have revived are Côteaux du Languedoc, Pic Saint Loup, La Clape, Muscat de Mireval, Banyuls, Maury etc and many more that unfortunately are not here, in The Bahamas, yet.

Beside those appellations during the past 15 years, another type of wines has been created : vins de pays dOc. These wines have not to follow the same rules as the appellations.

 For example they are not limited to the local grape varieties and this is what made their recent success. Many of the Vins de Pays dOc are made from only one grape variety and named by the name of this variety, which was a novelty in France. This is how we have Vins de Pays dOc Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Cabernet-Sauvignon, or Pinot Noir, even if none of these grape variety was originally from this region. Some major companies from other regions such as Paul Sapin and Bichot, have invested in the development of these wines and we can now taste them in the Bahamas.

That is a very good news for the people who, like me, drink wine everyday because these wines have, I consider, the best value for the price. The reason fro these prices is that these wine come from a region where there is still a lack of recognition as well as a big production so the balance is clearly in favor of the consumers and I dont think anybody here will complaint about it.

This is how I often enjoy my fish or seafood with a very lime fruit flavoured Sauvignon blanc from Paul Sapin while the spicy Bahamian food gets along very well with the Syrah de Pays dOc. These wines, like most Mediterranean wines, are less acidic than wines from northern regions but, even if the fruity and floral aromas are very strong they are still in the traditionnal European style that favors dryer wines than the American varieties.