Villa Karli
Vineyards
The Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest vine growing area in the world. Stretching from the Rhône to the Pyrenees, the wine region is several times bigger than, for example, Bordeaux or the wine growing region of Australian.
The Languedoc-Roussillon region covers 27,400 km2 and five departments: the Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère, and Pyrénées-Orientales.
Some 400,000 acres are planted with vines, which produce over 2 billion bottles each year. Around 173,000 acres produce AOC wines.
Wine has been produced in the Languedoc for more than 2000 years. The Greeks, and later the Romans, established colonies to produce wine and oil here. In later times the area produced high volumes of poor quality wine to blend with the strong wine imported from the North African colonies. During the 1960's the vines were replanted with the high volume, stronger, but still undistinguished Carignan grapes.
With the worldwide excess production of wine, vignerons in the Languedoc area have been replanting with varieties intended to produce better quality wines. Producers from California, Australia, South Africa and elsewhere are currently buying up vineyards because of the good ground and the cachet of a French label.
Increasingly, Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Cinsaut, Mourvedre, Sauvignon and Viognier are used for wine making. The Languedoc is becoming a respected producer of quality wines. Many domains already produce wines that command high prices. As in historical times, production of sweet wines, such as Muscat de Lunel and Rivesaltes continues along the coastal plains.
As you drive around the Languedoc, you will see numerous signs reading "dégustation". The word originally denoted the art of recognising a wine, its place of origin, quality, and age just from the taste, but now it just means free tasting. You can stop and taste wines at these places, and if you like what you taste you buy direct from the producer, sometimes at a significant discount.
