Wine Region
Languedoc-Roussillon is a former French administrative region, which roughly corresponds to the former Bas-Languedoc. The region is subdivided into five departments: Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère and Pyrénées-Orientales. It is bordered to the south by Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean Sea (the Gulf of Lion), and by the following French regions: Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées. Its inhabitants are called Languedociens-Roussillonnais.
Several natural elements limited it: the Pyrenees, then the Lauragais threshold, now called the Naurouze threshold, the Cévennes and the Rhône river. Several geographers have spoken of an amphitheater facing the sea when speaking of the mountains and plains of Languedoc and Roussillon.
Two regional languages are historically present in Languedoc-Roussillon: Occitan (Languedocien, Auvergnat, Provençal) and Catalan.
Languedoc grape varieties
Languedoc-Roussillon is historically the largest wine region in the world.
In the 4 departments (Aude, Gard, Hérault and Pyrénées-Orientales) the vineyard has 228,000 ha of vines, 89,000 of which are AOC.
However, Languedoc-Roussillon includes two very distinct vineyards: Roussillon with its Grenache noir from Spain and Languedoc with its 5 major red grape varieties: Syrah, Grenache Noir, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Cinsault.