
Grapes and leaves of the grape variety Gelber Muskateller, photographed at the viticulture trail on the Schemelsberg hill in Weinsberg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Travel west of Provence to the sunny, southern Mediterranean coastal area known as Languedoc. This little stretch of paradise has 320 days of sunshine per year.
This region spans the Mediterranean coastline cradled between the Franc0-Spanish border to eastern Provence. This wine region is the biggest wine producer in the world.
Some of the grapes that are grown in the Languedoc-Roussillon area include:
Merlot, Mourvedre, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, among others.
Chardonnay is a major white grape, used in sparkling Cremant de Limoux, produced around the town of Limoux.
The Languedoc region produces more than a third of the wine grapes in France and is credited with 30% of French wine exports. The Langedoc-Roussillon has 9% of the world’s production of Rose wine.
Some of the wine comes from the mountains closer to Cevennes including: Pic Saint Loup, Terrasses du Larzac, Faugères. The souther coastal areas produce: Corbières, Corbières Boutenac and Fitou. In addition, 30% of all of France’s organic wine comes from Languedoc.
Here’s a wine map:
Southern France An overview of the appellations in the Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence and southern Rhône regions
http://assets.winespectator.com/wso/Maps/SoFrancemap.pdf
Here’s some information from the official Languedoc website:
DOWNLOAD A LARGE MAP OF LANGUEDOC!
Facts and Figures
- Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest wine region in France: 650,000 total acres. This is double the vineyard area of Australia and more than all of California. 95,000 acres produce AOC wines.
- The AOCs in the Languedoc region account for about 10% of total production
- Languedoc AOCs produce roughly 1.3 million hectoliters per year
- 30% of all of France’s organic wine comes from Languedoc
- There are more than 30 AOCs in Languedoc, divided amongst the three main designations of
- AOC Languedoc
- Grands Vins du Languedoc
- Crus du Languedoc
To learn more about specific AOCs and wines click here
This area is a popular coastal tourist destination with resorts like: Cap d’Agde, Palavas-les-Flots, and Le Grau-du-Roi. The Roman architectural legacy can be witnessed in Nimes, Agde and Narbonne.

Arena of Nîmes, the Roman amphitheater in Nîmes, France. In the foreground the ruins of the Roman city wall. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Here’s a link to some of the monuments in Nimes. http://www.claudetravels.altervista.org/VdR/Nimes/gal.html
There are also plenty of interesting sites
in Montpellier and Toulousse. The Musée Fabre is a museum in Montpellier. There are also some Cathar castles in the mountains of Corbieres.
For more information visit www.suddefrancewines.com/
Dr. EveAnnLovero writes Travel Guides @ www.vino-con-vista.com

English: Wine-growing areas of Languedoc-Roussillon Français : Les vignobles du Languedoc-Roussillon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Castle of Montferrand – Pic Saint Loup – Montpellier – Herault – France Français : Château de Montferrand – Pic Saint Loup – Montpellier – Herault – France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Cap Béar, close to Port-Vendres in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales in the rRegion of Languedoc-Roussillon on the Mediterranean Coast in France. Français : Cap Béar près de Port-Vendres dans le département des Pyrénées-Orientales dans la région Languedoc-Rousssillon, France. Español: Cap Béar, cabo de la costa del sur de Francia entre Port-Vendres y Banyuls-sur-Mer Català: Cap Béar, cap de la regió Llenguadoc-Rosselló entre Portvendres i Banyuls de la Marenda (Photo credit: Wikipedia)