the terroirs

The whole world is talking about the change of wine in the Languedoc-Roussillon, those unique red wines with strong tanins and the fine, outstanding Chardonnays.

The outstanding wines are auctioned, such as at Toques et Clocher in Limoux, attended by the great maitres, i.e. Paul Bocuse or Andre Westermann, and where the Baron de Rothshild auctioned a jar of the unique Chardonnay of the local cave Sieur d'Arques.

The terroirs in the South of France near the Spanish border, located at the foot of the Pyrenees take advantage of the Mediterrenean climate with atlantic influence, the altitude of the vineyards and the mild West winds - this combination being perfect for high quality wines.



Already the Greeks and the Romans discovered these unique geological advantages and so they started to plant the first vines of this region.

Over the last twenty years vinegrowing in the region has become subject to drastic change, this former region of vinegar-like table wines, became one of the world's most highly reputed vine growers' region, producing outstanding white wines and red wines.

The definition « terroir » stands for a combination of the soil condition, the type of vine and the climatic influence; and as the really great wines cannot grow on each terroir, these three factors must fit perfectly, in order to grow the vines which grant the really unique wines. And France has an unbelievable great number of perfect terroirs - in the country's Northern regions as well as in the South.

Climate, quantity of rain, sun influence, temperature fluctuations play a major role in combination with topography, vegetation and water, as well as altitude level and type of soil. The alignment of the hill, the number of sun hours and the duration of sun's influence - all these items are of major importance for the ripening of the perfect grape.

Of the same importance are the soil, the quantity of water, the combination of soils, the contained nutritive substances and the soil's ability to store the heat of the sun; the perfect vine on perfect soil will make the perfect wine!

Not even the queen of vines has the slightest chance, when it is cultivated on the wrong soil under the wrong climatic conditions. As an example: Pinot Noir and Burgundy. One may grow this vine in many regions of this world and on various types of soil - it will never become a really perfect Burgundy.

For the Languedoc-Roussillon region it paid out to have all the factors examined continuously during the recent 20 years, and to change vine growing completely. The fashionable vines and the quantity producing vines vanished one after the other, being replaced by the typical vine types of a region, that finally detected its unique terroirs, being able to produce the real, great wines.

more Terroirs