Languedoc Day 2018

During a set of recent Instagram posts, I found out that Neil and I have tried quite a few Languedoc wines. This came as a bit to a surprise to me. We know that we always enjoy trying new wines but who knew that we’d been gravitating to a specific French wine region? I’d say part of the reason we were unaware of these wines all carrying a similar trait is because Old World wines are labeled pretty differently than New World wines.

Do you drink wine from France often? French wines are typically just labeled with the name of the producers “Chateau or Domaine” something, which makes it difficult to decipher. Not to mention how many parts of France grow grapes, how could we know all those town names, nevermind where they are located. Need a little help with French wine geography? Here’s a map with many of the regions listed: https://vineyards.com/country-wine-regions/france.

The Languedoc region* used to produce cheap jug wines but they are now becoming known as a place with great “value wines.” This is probably the other reason we’ve been drawn to this area, the price. We can try French wines at an affordable price. Sounds like a good reason to learn more about this area!

https://wineandcheesefriday.com/gouda-goat-cheese-with-chardonnay-and-grenache-noir/ Domaine LaFage Nicolas Grenache Noir Côtes Catalanes #redwine #grenache #grenachenoir We chose this Grenache Noir because it was one of the first pure varietal Grenache wines we’d seen in a store. We were familiar with this grape from GSM blends I’d had in California.

https://wineandcheesefriday.com/chateau-d-oupia-minervois-wine/ Château d’Oupia Minervois #redwine #carignan #grenache #syrah We came across this wine because of the recommendation of @wine101hamden. He said “Try this, it’s different.” Always happy to try a new wine, we happily accepted the challenge.

https://wineandcheesefriday.com/visiting-france/ Le Vin de Merde Languedoc-Roussillon #redwine #grenache #syrah We visited France in 2014 and of course we tried some wine while we were there! We weren’t able to visit any vineyards but there was still wine to enjoy. French wine in France, pretty amazing!

https://wineandcheesefriday.com/french-vs-british-cheeses-at-cheese-please-tampa-fl/ Maison Nicolas Cabernet Sauvignon Vin de Pays d'Oc #redwine #cabernetsauvignon We tried these French wines during a French Cheese tasting. The event was more focused on the cheeses than the wines but still more exposure for us to French wines. Once I researched the Cab I found out it was from the Languedoc region.

Les Jamelles Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d'Oc #redwine #pinotnoir Neil was in withdrawal of Old World wines after drinking South American wines for so long. How cool to find out that this classification of French wines is one of the affordable styles of French wine. They draw from a large region on the Southern coast of France and usually put the grape on the label. How different from so many other French wines!

https://twitter.com/WineCheeseFri/status/736334933766111232 Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup “Cuvée Sainte Agnès" Pic Saint Loup #redwine #syrah #grenache #mourvedre We chose this wine during our visit to Kermit Lynch wines in Berkeley, CA. The salesperson taught us so much about the Languedoc region that day and how it’s just starting to bounce back from the days of bulk wines. The conversation was sparked because it was almost Languedoc Day in 2016. We thought this was our first and only time tasting Languedoc wine, who knew we’d been drinking wines from this region throughout our entries with WineAndCheeseFriday.

https://wineandcheesefriday.com/vinebox-shipment-one/ Blanc de Demoiselles Corbières #whitewine #Grenache Blanc #Marsanne #Macabeo This wine was sent to us as part of our first VineBox shipment. Since they choose the wines, we didn’t pick this one ourselves but how cool that it’s also from the Languedoc region. And our first white wine to taste from this area.

Domaine La Bouysse Carignan Corbières #redwine #carignan We found this wine on a recent visit to Wine Authorities. Not only did the tasting notes sound good but we saw the wine was from Languedoc. We figured we should probably pick up a bottle in order to celebrate the upcoming Languedoc Day. Then we saw in their newsletter that the upcoming Languedoc tasting would feature this specific wine, guess we made a good choice for Languedoc Day!

After researching all these wines, I figured out another reason we like this region of France, the grapes! I really like Grenache and Neil really likes Syrah. Well there you go, looks like we'll be continuing our journey through the Languedoc region of France!

*Thanks to WineRoutesFrance.com for the map of the Languedoc wine regions!