Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence Flashcards

Question

Vin de Corse AC

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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.

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

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.

Answer 8

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.

Answer 9

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.

Answer 10

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.

Answer 11

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.

Answer 12

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.

Answer 13

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.

Answer 14

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.

Answer 15

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.

Answer 16

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.

Answer 17

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.

Answer 18

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.

Answer 19

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.

Answer 20

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.

Answer 21

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.

Answer 22

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.

Answer 23

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.

Answer 24

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.

Answer 25

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.

Answer 26

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.

Answer 27

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.

Answer 28

A spectacular and famous small hilltop settlement in the far west of provence dominated by Michelin-starred restaurants and their customers’ cars gives its name to a local appellation contrôlée created in 1995 and substantially amended since. In the far north west, effectively on limestone rubble from the craggy Alpilles chain, Les Baux is slightly warmer and wetter than much of coteaux d’aix-en-provence from which it was ceded and the rules are stricter—possibly too strict. Red wines are made, from Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre grapes, which must together make up at least 60% of the blend, together with Cinsaut, Counoise, Carignan, and Cabernet Sauvignon (which last must represent no more than 20% of the total, thus excluding the area’s best estate, Domaine de Trévallon, from the appellation). Cinsaut takes the place of Mourvèdre in the rosés, which make up about a fifth of the appellation. Clairette, Grenache Blanc, and Vermentino are the principal grapes for the new white version, although some Marsanne and Roussanne may be included in the blend. Even more significant however is that the growers (unsuccessfully) asked that their appellation regulations should be the first in France to specify organic viticulture. The Mistral helps to keep the vines healthy.

Answer 29

Name used for many, probably unrelated, Italian red grapes, one of which may be identical to the rare Barbaroux of Provence.

Answer 30

Italian red grape variety with a strong muscat aroma. dna profiling at san michele all’adige strongly supports a parent–offspring relationship with the classic muscat blanc à petits grains, hence the Muscat flavour. Aleatico certainly has the potential to produce fine, if somewhat esoteric, fragrant, usually pale red from the Italian 2010 total of a few hundred ha. Two doc s enshrine the word Aleatico in the wine lexicon of lazio and puglia, but the variety is becoming increasingly rare, although successful attempts such as Avignonesi’s to revive the wine in the Tuscan maremma are under way. Sweet red Aleatico is one of the few wines to be exported from the island of elba, and the variety is grown on the island of Corsica, although it is not authorized for any appellation contrôlée wine. Aleatico is also surprisingly popular in the central Asian republics, notably kazakhstan and uzbekistan.

Answer 31

The highest named terroir in the languedoc was promoted to full aoc status for its distinctive reds in 2014. The elevation of these foothills of the Cévennes entails dramatic temperature variation, sometimes as much as 20 °C/36 °F between day and night. The decidedly infertile soils include clay, limestone, pebbles, and shingle. The required blend of Languedoc grape varieties is dominated by Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Mourvèdre with, possibly, some Cinsaut and Carignan.

Answer 32

Small named terroir within the languedoc aoc in southern France, just east of montpellier. Unlike the rest of the Coteaux du Languedoc, this is a historic zone of individual estates, most notably Ch de Flaugergues. Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre dominate in these particularly Mediterranean vineyards, at a much lower elevation than much of the rest of the Languedoc AOC.

Answer 33

The easternmost named red wine cru within the languedoc aoc in southern France, named after a village on the eastern boundary of the Hérault département with Gard. Production of appellation wine is relatively low here, and is chiefly in the hands of the village co-operative.

Answer 34

The smallest named red wine cru within the languedoc aoc in southern France. Like neighbouring st-christol it is named after a village on the eastern boundary of the Hérault département with Gard and such appellation production as there is chiefly in the hands of the village co-operative although Ch Puech-Haut makes fine reds and whites.

Answer 35

One of the more exciting of the named red wine crus within the languedoc AOC in southern France named after the eponymous village but including parts of St-Guiraud, Jonquières, and Arboras. Just west of montpeyroux, this zone is also in high, rugged country where little other than the vine will grow. The St-Saturnin co-operative is particularly dynamic, as are some individual producers.

Answer 36

Named gneiss-dominated enclave in the extreme south west of the area designated for Côtes du roussillon-Villages. Syrah must constitute at least 40% of the blend, Carignan no more than 60%. The rest should be Grenache.

Answer 37

Small village on brown schist that once guarded the border between France and Spain, and whose name may be a suffix to the appellation Côtes du roussillon-Villages. It may have been accorded this distinction less because of the superior quality of the wine than because the name had been successfully promoted to the French wine consumer by wine merchants Nicolas, who once bought the majority of production. Grape varieties allowed are Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Lladoner Pelut.

Answer 38

Historic, distinctive, but minute appellation in the far south east of provence whose total vineyard area had by 2011 fallen to 50 ha/125 acres in the hills above Nice. It takes determination to find a bottle outside the Côte d’Azur, and even greater determination to find the vineyards themselves perched about 300 m/980 ft above the Mediterranean up the Var valley in the city’s hinterland. Almost equal quantities of all three colours are produced. The scented, full-bodied whites made from the local Rolle (Vermentino) grapes with some Chardonnay and occasionally Bourboulenc are the appellation’s most distinctive wines, and reflect well the mesoclimate of these hillside vineyards, which is slightly cooler than in much of the rest of Provence. Rosés may be made from braquet (while the intriguing Folle Noire (Fuella) is traditional for red wines, although it is often supplemented by Cinsaut and occasionally Grenache.

Answer 39

Small, mainly white wine appellation in provence. The encroachment of Greater Marseilles on this old fishing village keeps total plantings to just under 190 ha/470 acres in this sheltered amphitheatre, protected from the mistral by the Cap Canaille to the east, one of the highest cliffs in France. Three-quarters of the wine is full, dry, herby white, made mainly from Clairette and Marsanne. A little rosé and even less red are also made, mainly from Mourvèdre (which ripens easily here—see nearby bandol), Grenache, and Cinsaut. Little Cassis is allowed to escape by the annual influx of summer visitors, however.

Answer 40

Miniature appellation of just 43 ha/106 acres in 2005 in provence in the hills east of Aix-en-Provence. The appellation is a relatively old one, created in 1948 in recognition of a distinctive limestone outcrop on the north-facing bank of the River Arc. A single property, Ch Simone, produces most of the wine, and for many years was responsible for the most serious wine of the appellation. For seven generations, Ch Simone has been in the Rougier family, who continue to respect the traditional winemaking techniques, involving very old vines, prolonged fermentation, and barrel maturation using very little new wood. field blends of southern vine varieties make extremely dense, long-lived reds, full-bodied rosés, and characterful white wines which belie modern white winemaking philosophy. The indigenous varieties permitted are even more numerous than those allowed in châteauneuf-du-pape.

Answer 41

Enclave within the Côtes de provence appellation which takes its name from the Var département. Of wines produced from the 2,505 ha/6,187 acres in production by 2013, 90% were rosé. The wooded hills around Brignoles are based on limestone and are so buffered from warming maritime influence by the hills of Ste-Baume that vines will not ripen at all reliably at elevations of more than about 350 m/1,100 ft. Reds and rosés may incorporate a wide array of grapes: the rosé varieties Grenache and Cinsaut but also Syrah and Mourvèdre (which will ripen only in the warmest sites) are the principal dark-skinned grapes but Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and the Provençal speciality tibouren are allowed a minor role. This gives the better producers an exciting palette from which to work; some of them produce several different blends which vary in style by virtue of both varietal mix and élevage. For white wines, Grenache Blanc is added to those varieties permitted for Côtes de Provence Blanc (see provence), although Vermentino is increasingly appreciated.

Answer 42

Centred on the village in the Agly Valley of the same name, was one of roussillon’s famous vins doux naturels, a cousin from the hilly hinterland of seaside banyuls, and produced in greater quantity. But in 2012 an appellation for its red wines was authorized, in recognition of the increasing importance of these less alcoholic, terroir-driven, dry wines in the region, previously sold as vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes (its whites are igp Côtes Catalanes), at the expense of strong, sweet wines. Maury is on high inland schist at the northern limit of the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages area in the Agly valley. The ruins of the Cathar castle of Quéribus, a constant reminder of the area’s harsh natural environment, dominate the village of Maury. Summers are hot and dry, though slightly cooler in the higher west of the appellation. Both dry reds and red vins doux naturels are based substantially on Grenache Noir, with Carignan, Mourvèdre, and Syrah playing a subsidiary role in the dry reds and Grenache of other hues doing the same for the fast-declining production of vins doux naturels. The latter are invariably strong and sweet, those described as grenat or tuilé being based on Grenache Noir, although Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris may be used for the occasional vin doux naturel described as ambré or blanc. The co-operative, Les Vignerons du Maury, dominates production but since the 1990s the region has attracted an exceptional number of incomers too.

Answer 43

Is the name of the wine for long called Muscat de Frontignan, the most important of the Languedoc’s four Muscats. Now a distinctly unglamorous town on the semi-industrial lagoon between Montpellier and Sète, Frontignan was famous for the quality of its muscat for centuries. It was probably one of France’s earliest vineyard sites, being close to the saltmarshes around Narbonne. pliny the Younger singled out this particular ‘bees’ wine’ for mention in his letters. arnaldus de villanova, who is credited with the discovery of the process by which most Muscat de Frontignan is made today (see vin doux naturel), claimed that his daily ration of the wine, as advised by the then all-powerful Aragón monarch, made him feel years younger. It was popular in both Paris and London in the 17th and 18th centuries, doubtless with wider appeal then than the dry reds of south west France that were also shipped north. ‘Frontiniac’ was specifically praised by the philosopher John Locke in 1676, while both Voltaire and, even further afield, Thomas jefferson were well-documented and enthusiastic purchasers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Frontignan clearly made red as well as white wines which were compared with those of that other favourite of our sweet-toothed ancestors, constantia. See also languedoc, history, for details of a claimed link between Frontignan and Ch d’yquem. Muscat de Frontignan, despite being one of the first appellations, and certainly the first vin doux naturel appellation, to be officially recognized, fell into decline for much of the 20th century. Only the rather lighter Muscat de beaumes-de-venise somehow escaped the malaise that affected the market for France’s sweeter wines, until the 1980s, when the winemakers of Frontignan awoke as if from a deep sleep and started to produce a much higher proportion of more delicate, more refreshing, yet more characterful golden Muscats (although some dark, turgid, raisiny Frontignan can still be found). As in all Languedoc Muscats (see lunel, mireval, and st-jean-de-minervois), only the finest Muscat variety, muscat blanc à petits grains, should be used and the final wine must be at least 15% alcohol with a sugar content of at least 110 g/l. Cheaper Muscats made well outside the region but marketed vigorously to tourists do nothing for the image of this once-great appellation. Co-operatives dominate output, but Ch de la Peyrade can take much of the credit for revitalizing winemaking in Frontignan, whose seaside vineyards may not be the Mediterranean’s most picturesque but are at least reliably warm enough to maximize Muscat Blanc’s potential. A small proportion of Muscat de Frontignan is fortified so early it qualifies as a vin de liqueur.

Answer 44

Little-used vin doux naturel appellation in roussillon used effectively for declassified rivesaltes. It may be any of the three colours and also comes in rancio form.

Answer 45

Named terroir within the languedoc aoc in southern France created in 2005 for red wines made mainly from Syrah and Mourvèdre with Grenache Noir in 46 communes in a broad sweep of hinterland of the city of Montpellier generally cooled by breezes from the nearby Mediterranean.

Answer 46

Is a slightly more important (73-ha/180-acre in 2012) appellation than clairette de bellegarde, again exclusively from the Clairette grape. It is one of the named subappellations of the southern French languedoc aoc. Clairette du Languedoc has suffered an extremely confused image as, despite its relatively small production, a wide array of different wine styles has been produced, and is officially sanctioned, within the appellation. The wine can be anything from an ultra-modern, early-picked, yellowish green, dry wine for drinking almost before the end of the year in which it was harvested, to a deep brown rancio sweet, alcoholic vin de liqueur fortified just as fermentation has started. The area qualifying for this confused appellation lies to the north east of Pézenas. The Adissan and Cabrières co-operatives are the specialist producers.

Answer 47

Languedoc appellation (since 1999) of 590 ha/1,457 acres to the north of Carcassonne which produces red and some rosé wines that testify to its location on the cusp of Atlantic and Mediterranean influences. The grape varieties planted also represent a Bordeaux/Languedoc cocktail of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cot (Malbec), and some Fer Servadou (of marcillac fame), spiced and fleshed out with the more meridional Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsaut (mainly for rosé). The Bordelais varieties tend to prosper on the western, wetter, deeper soils, while wines produced from the hotter, shallower soils of the eastern Cabardès are more likely to have a high proportion of Mediterranean varieties. Winds almost constantly buffet the small hills punctuated by pines and garrigue, and minimize the local wine producers’ dependence on agrochemicals. In contrast to the somewhat similar Côtes de la malepère to the south of Carcassonne, production here is mainly in the hands of a small but committed band of individuals constrained by low financial returns. Winemaking equipment and methods are not always the most sophisticated, but the wines boast an originality and potential for longevity that is unusual for this part of France (which officials tend to classify as south west france rather than the languedoc to which its immediate eastern neighbour the Minervois belongs).

Answer 48

Is the traditional, largely domestically produced, strong, sweet aperitif of the Languedoc, made, rather like a vin de liqueur, by adding grape spirit to barely fermenting grape juice.

Answer 49

The harvest began on 7 August. The hot weather produced plentiful ripeness, and potential quality is considered to be very promising at the top end.

Answer 50

The Languedoc experienced cataclysmic hail storms in 2014, seriously compromising yield, but the Roussillon fared better and looks to have produced wines of balance, concentration and complexity at relatively low alcohol levels. Early start to the season but a cool, humid summer delayed harvest to average dates. Exceptionally productive Grenache after the coulure of 2013.

Answer 51

A tricky vintage in the south of France with yields of coulure-afflicted Grenache down 50-60%. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan fared better and an Indian summer compensated for the cold wet spring, bringing the grapes to full ripeness. Cooler conditions generally resulted in fresher than usual whites from Viognier, Vermentino and Roussanne.

Answer 52

Described as the worst the Languedoc has seen for 22 years. Yields were low thanks to drought at one stage and mildew at another. Late, uneven ripening resulted in wines without fully developed varietal character in many instances. It certainly was not a complete disaster but overall the feeling is one of disappointment.

Answer 53

A rainier year meant that volumes were finally back to normal after three lean years - however, it also created a problem with rot in the vineyards. A difficult year but one that has produced some very well balanced, successful reds.

Answer 54

Quantity is down - again - but quality is good, with minimal rot thanks to dry, windy conditions in August and September.

Answer 55

A warm and smaller than average year, especially for whites. Quality is very high quality across the region.

Answer 56

Variable weather and drought in the summer made this a challenging year, but has created some concentrated, fruity and aromatic reds.

Answer 57

Very cool, grey summer left grapes struggling to ripen properly.

Answer 58

Relatively soft wines for medium-term drinking.

Answer 59

Almost great but rain at harvest time diluted the potential somewhat.

Answer 60

Traditional growing season. Very good, well-balanced wines that lasted well.

Answer 61

The heatwave resulted in some very strange musts with such low acids and such high sugars than some fermentations got stuck, resulting in sweetish wines. Definitely not for the long term.

Answer 62

Extremely variable. An unusually grey summer ended with disastrous floods in the Gard département in the far east of the region although many growers in the hills managed to make good wine.

Answer 63

Summer was so hot and dry that some vines shut down and stopped ripening. Rain in September was a relief for those who picked after it although the wines picked too early may be uncomfortably tough. White wines are particularly concentrated.

Answer 64

Devastating floods in November 1999 damaged some vineyards, as did storms in June and July but the summer was warm and dry (though not excessively so) and was followed by a prolonged harvest with some very good quality wine. Lovely, round, supple wines with ripe tannins.

Answer 65

An exceptionally dry winter was followed by heavy rainfall, and some hail in Roussillon, at the end of April. Wines are respectable but not as exciting as the vintages immediately before and after.

Answer 66

Very good, small crop.

Answer 67

Large crop, difficult season.

Answer 68

Large crop and a rainy summer which affected reds more than whites.

Answer 69

Excellent ripeness and concentration in reds, especially in the hills.

Answer 70

Probably France's most successful region: a small crop with real richness and concentration.

Answer 71

After a wonderful summer this was an exciting vintage.

Answer 72

Irregular quality inevitable after localised autumn downpours.

Answer 73

A really outstanding year of rich, dense and big-structured wines, especially in Roussillon.

Answer 74

Generous weather gave excellent wines that were fruity and delicious.

Answer 75

Previously known as Coteaux du Languedoc, varied and probably too extensive appellation whose zone includes some of France’s best-value vineyards and most of the land suitable for growing vines above the coastal plain in a swathe through the Hérault département from Narbonne towards Nîmes. This territory was once known as Septimanie and is in effect a giant south-facing amphitheatre, although of course there are many local variations in topography. As elsewhere in the Languedoc, much of the land technically included within the appellation is used for other purposes (other crops, igp, or vsig wine, for example). The total vineyard area dedicated to producing Coteaux du Languedoc by 2000 was about 10,000 ha/24,799 acres, a considerable increase on the 6,500 ha declared in the early 1990s, and remained pretty constant for the first decade of this century, despite the region’s enthusiastic vine pull scheme. Although much of the zone qualifies for the basic Languedoc appellation, a number of subappellations, crus, or specific terroirs have been identified and are allowed to append their own name to that of the appellation on labels. picpoul de pinet established its own appellation and identity in 2013 and terrasses du larzac followed in 2014. Other subappellations waiting with particular impatience for independent existence are cabrières, La clape, grés de montpellier, la méjanelle, montpeyroux, pézenas, pic-st-loup, quatourze, st-christol, st-drézéry, st-georges-d’orques, st-saturnin, and sommières.

Answer 76

The highest named cru within the languedoc aoc and one of the most exciting. It produces mainly but not exclusively red wine. Although Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre are the principal varieties and, between them, must constitute 60% of any blend, Carignan was long the dominant vine variety and Domaine d’Aupilhac has shown from the early 1990s that fine wine can be made of old-vine Carignan, and Cinsaut. drought is a common summer problem and yields on these rocky slopes are notably low.

Answer 77

Mountainous Mediterranean island under French jurisdiction whose wines continue to improve. Situated on the 42nd parallel, Corsica is actually much closer to Italy (83 km/50 miles) than to France (170 km/100 miles). The island, about 180 km long and 80 km wide, comprises a series of mountains around which runs a perimeter of capes, gulfs, and sandy beaches. The average elevation is 586 m/1,900 ft. Corsica produces many different types and styles of wine. Average annual production is 350,000 hl/9.2 million gal with two-thirds of production now leaving the island. About 160,000 hl is sold in mainland France while 60,000 hl exported, particularly to the US, Germany, and Belgium.

Answer 78

The history of Corsica is closely related to that of Italy and this is reflected in the viticulture. Evidence suggests that vines were indigenous to the island and that their cultivation is one of the oldest in Europe, dating back to phoenician times and the settlement in 570 bc at Aleria on the east coast. Under Genoese rule in the 16th century, laws were enacted to control the harvest and tasting of wines; export of Corsican wines to destinations other than the republic of genoa was banned. The English diarist James Boswell wrote in 1769, only a year after the Genoese ceded the island to France, of the excellence and diversity of Corsican wines. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio and Napoleonic laws still entitle the island to sell duty-free wines and tobacco. The wine industry was revolutionized in the 1960s with the repatriation of many French pieds noirs from algeria. Between 1960 and 1976 they imported and planted their own productive and often undistinguished vine varieties (see below) with such determination that the total vineyard area increased fourfold to over 30,000 ha producing 2 million hl of wine. In 1980, however, as eu subsidies favoured uprooting vines rather than producing yet more liquid to be poured into the European wine lake, Corsican vineyards began to be restructured, with a more determined emphasis on quality. The total area under vine was barely 6,000 ha/14,826 acres in 2013. The old highly productive varieties have been replaced by nobler vines, both imported and Corsican.

Answer 79

With more than 20 peaks over 2,000 m/6,560 ft in elevation, over 55% of the surface area of the island lies above 400 m elevation, creating an array of valleys and hillsides with different elevations, expositions to wind and maritime influence, and mesoclimates. A variety of soils exists with four main soil types: granite on the west side; schist in the north and the Cap Corse, the mountainous finger of land pointing Francewards in the far north; chalk and clay in Patrimonio immediately south of it; and marly sand and alluvial soils from Solenzara to Bastia on the east coast. Corsica is sunnier than anywhere in mainland France with an annual average of 2,885 hours, and, although total rainfall is higher than on the mainland, very little rain falls in the months of August and September. Due to the mountainous nature of Corsica, a jigsaw of mesoclimates exists. The average temperature is higher in the north of the island than in the south. The sea, by absorbing heat during the day and radiating it at night, plays a major role in diminishing the day–night temperature variability. wind is extremely influential, with Cap Corse, Bonifacio, and Calvi often experiencing winds of over 150 km/hour. Important winds include the mistral from Provence; libeccio from Gibraltar bringing rain; the dry, cold tramontane from the Alps; the damper gregale from the Appenines; and the warm sirocco blowing in from the Sahara.

Answer 80

Vines are cultivated up to 300 m/1,000 ft in elevation. Traditionally vines were pruned in gobelet form but pruning and training methods such as cordon de royat and single guyot became more widespread with mechanization. The most common rootstock is 110 R. The strong winds help to keep the vines free of disease, the main viticultural concerns being downy mildew, powdery mildew, and flavescence dorée provoked by cicadelle attack. Irrigation is prohibited (often resulting in particularly intense flavours), and vine density is an average 2,500 vines per ha (1,000 per acre).

Answer 81

Niellucciu (sangiovese), Sciacarellu (mammolo), and vermentino (Favorita) are the important Corsican varieties, representing more than two-thirds of all AOC wines, while international varieties comprise about a quarter of vines planted on the island, having displaced the traditional varieties Cinsaut, Carignan, Grenache, and Alicante Bouschet. A host of more traditional Corsican varieties exist but few are planted in any significant quantity. CRVI (Centre de Recherche Viticole Insulaire) is charged with researching and selecting ‘new-old’ Corsican varieties such as Bianco Gentile, Carcajolo, Codivarta, Morastellu, Genovese, Riminese, and Barbarossa. Niellucciu, probably introduced by the Genoese before the 18th century, was the most planted variety, accounting for 35% of vineyard area or 2,380 ha/3,955 acres in 2013, many of them in the north of the island, where it thrives on the calcareous-clay soils of Patrimonio. Nielluccio may be vinified as either a rosé or, if well vinified, an intensely coloured red with good, structured tannins and a balanced acidity. Plantings of Sciacarellu had grown to 1,020 ha/2,520 acres ha by 2013. It is most successful on the granitic south west coast between Ajaccio and Sartène, producing relatively crisp, peppery reds and rosés, light in colour but high in alcohol. It is often blended with Nielluccio or Grenache. The only significant white native grape variety is also the best travelled. Vermentino (1,156 ha/2,856 acres in 2013) is grown all over the island but performs best in the far north. It produces wines ranging from a pale, crisp version to a full-bodied golden wine with a ripe fruit flavour, depending on when it is picked. Although many of the wines are dry, sweet Vermentino wines are also produced. Codivarta, a white grape grown on the Cap Corse, is the only other local speciality cultivated to any appreciable extent.

Answer 82

Almost 70% of all Corsican wine is made by co-operatives, which, like some of the smaller wineries, took advantage of eu grants available for the installation of modern stainless steel vats and refrigeration equipment. White wines are usually therefore fermented at between 18 and 20 °C (64–8 °F), and clean-tasting rosés are made by saignée and cool fermentation. malolactic conversion is usually suppressed for whites and rosés. Red winemaking is relatively traditional with fermentation temperatures regularly rising to 30 °C, followed by malolactic conversion. The use of oak was still relatively limited but increasing in the early 21st century, although Vermentino subjected to barrel fermentation and lees stirring can yield good results, and wines such as the Cuvée des Gouverneurs from Orenga de Gaffory and Clos du Cardinal from Domaine Peraldi showed respectively that Niellucciu and Sciacarellu respond well to ageing in oak.

Answer 83

Rosé has become extremely important in Corsica, representing 67% of all production in 2013 (30% in 2003). In the same period white wine’s share increased from 10 to 20%. In 2013 total production was 368,000 hl (over 9.7 million gal), a substantial decrease on the 1988 figure of just under 600,000 hl. In 2013 AOC wines represented just over 30% of total production, while the proportion of wine which qualifies as IGP de l’Île de Beauté was nearly 64% with the remaining 6% being table wine. Nine different appellations exist: Patrimonio, Ajaccio, Muscat de Cap Corse, Vin de Corse (Corsican wine), and Vin de Corse followed by Calvi, Coteaux du Cap Corse, Figari, Porto-Vecchio, or Sartène, all of them in the process of establishing their own viticultural identity.

Answer 84

Patrimonio on the north coast was the first region in Corsica to gain AC status, in 1968. About 410 ha of vines were shared between 33 domaines and yields are restricted to 50 hl/ha (2.8 tons/acre). In the past, the wines of Patrimonio often included a mix of different imported grape varieties, notably Grenache, but from 2000, Nielluccio must account for 90% of the blend in red wines and Vermentino for 100% in the white. This has caused considerable controversy amongst the growers. Clos de Bernardi, one of the oldest estates reputed for its red, is situated in Patrimonio. Other growers such as Orenga de Gaffory, Gentile, Yves Leccia, and Arena have also invested much time and money to make dramatic improvements in quality.

Answer 85

Some of Corsica’s highest vineyards are in this extensive zone on the west coast which produces mainly red and rosé wines from 14 producers with a total of 260 ha. Sciacarellu is the grape variety typical of the appellation and yields are set at 45 hl/ha. Domaine Peraldi, which overlooks the Bay of Ajaccio, is one of the best producers.

Answer 86

This generic AC is the dominant one on the island comprising the wines grown on the eastern plain where the largest estates were established in the 1960s. These tend to be Corsica’s least distinguished AC wines, although Niellucciu, Sciacarellu, and Grenache must represent at least 50% of any red or rosé, while whites must be at least 75% Vermentino. The 1,603 ha are shared between 17 individual producers and four co-ops.

Answer 87

The most northerly tip of the island, the Cap Corse, is renowned for its sweet Muscat and Rappu (a sweet muscat-style red wine made from the aleatico vine variety). Some of Corsica’s best dry white wines, such as Clos Nicrosi, are produced here on only 30 ha shared by five domaines.

Answer 88

Lower yields are required of this appellation which encompasses 227 ha and 12 producers in the north west of the island.

Answer 89

comes from 130 ha of vines and six producers in the south west of the island where Clos Canarelli is the leading producer.

Answer 90

is made in the far south east on 88 ha of vines by four producers.

Answer 91

just north west of Figari has 226 ha of vineyard and ten producers.

Answer 92

A full 37 producers make this distinctive vin doux naturel from just 74 ha of muscat blanc à petits grains on the northern tip of the island. Grapes are picked at between 14 and 15% potential alcohol and made, by the addition of alcohol at an early stage of fermentation, into a relatively elegant sweet wine.

Answer 93

Or strong air movement, is a problem on many coastal and otherwise exposed viticultural sites. Major valleys can also be windy, because they can act as funnels, and have their own distinctive systems of wind force and directions. The mistral of the southern Rhône is one of the more notorious examples of this, as is the Salinas Valley in monterey. The detrimental effects of wind on vines are described under wind stress; installing windbreaks can provide a solution. Hot, dry winds in summer are a particular hazard of viticultural regions bordering deserts. The sirocco of North Africa afflicts the vineyards of southern Europe, occasionally reaching France, for example. The hot, very dry, strong zonda winds of argentina can cause major problems for vineyards. The effects of wind are by no means all detrimental, however. The normally regular afternoon sea breezes of coastal regions with otherwise summer-dry climates, such as those of Portugal, California, and much of southern Australia, have a useful moderating effect on viticultural climate, and are thought to contribute significantly to the quality of their wines (see climate and wine quality). In all environments some air movement is needed to prevent excessive build-up of humidity within the vineyard, and to encourage drying of wet foliage and bunches, thereby reducing the risk of fungal diseases. Night winds (or wind machines) largely prevent radiation frosts, while during sunlight hours the moderate movement of leaves encourages a more uniform spread of intermittent sunlight exposure among them, thus promoting a more efficient use of sunlight. Some degree of windiness is also often an unavoidable concomitant of the topographies that are viticulturally the best in other respects, for example in Waipara in new zealand. In summary, winds cannot be entirely avoided; nor are they wholly undesirable. The selection of sheltered sites, where possible, is important in windy regions. Beyond that, the answers to wind problems lie mainly in suitable vineyard strategies of trellising and where necessary in the use of windbreaks.

Answer 94

``` Cotes de Provence AOP Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AOP Les Baux-de-Provence AOP Palette AOP Cassis AOP Bandol AOP Coteaux Varois en Provence AOP Bellet/ Vin de Bellet AOP Pierrevert AOP ```

Answer 95

Sainte- Victoire Frejus La Londe Pierrefeu (the latter added in 2012)

Answer 96

``` Languedoc AOP Clairette du Languedoc AOP Cabardes AOP Corbieres AOP Corbieres- Boutenac AOP Faugeres AOP Fitou AOP La Clape AOP Limoux AOP Cremant de Limoux AOP Malepere AOP Minervois AOP Minervois-La Livineres AOP Picpoul de Pinet AOP Saint-Chinian AOP Terrasses du Larzac AOP Muscat de Frontignan/ Frontignan/ Vin de Frontignan AOP Muscat de Lunel AOP Muscat de Mireval AOP Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minevois AOP ```

Answer 97

``` Cabrieres Cles de Montpellier La Mejanelle Montpeyroux Pezenas Pic-Saint-Loup Quatourze Saint-Christol Saint-Drezery Saint-Georges-d'Orques Saint-Saturnin Sommieres ```

Answer 98

Berlou, Roquebruin (both are for Rouge wines only)

Answer 99

``` Cotes du Rousillon AOP Cotes du Roussillon Villages AOP Grand Roussillon AOP Collioure AOP Muscat de Riversaltes AOP Riversaltes AOP Banyuls AOP Banyuls Grand Cru AOP Maury AOP ```

Answer 100

Les Aspres

Answer 101

Caramany Latour-de-France Lesquerde Tautavel

Answer 102

Banyuls-sur-Mer, Cerebere, Collioure, Port-Vendres

Answer 103

Banyuls-sur-Mer, Cerebere, Colllioure, Port- Vendres

Answer 104

Maury, Rasigueres, Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, Tautavel

Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence Flashcards

(129 cards)