The galet, the rounded river stone, the size of the fist, the polished by the Rhône over the millennia, covers the vineyard of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Château de Beaucastel, and the stones absorb the heat of the southern French sun during the day and release it during the night, ripening the 13 permitted grape varieties into the most powerful and the most beautiful wines in the southern France. The Languedoc is the largest wine-producing region in the world, the 300,000 hectares, the 2,000 years of the viticulture, and the Languedoc is the most exciting wine destination in the France: the innovation, the value, and the food that is the most French of the all. Here is your guide.

Fine Wines and Dining in Languedoc

• The wines, the essential appellations: The Languedoc was the land of the bulk wine, the cheap, the low-quality, and the “wine lake”, until the 1990s, when the new generation of the winemakers began to treat the region as the serious terroir. The essential appellations: the Pic Saint-Loup (the mountain north of the Montpellier, the 658 metres, the Syrah, the Grenache, the Mourvèdre, the most elegant wines in the Languedoc, the “Burgundy of the south,” and the essential domaines: the Mas Bruguière (the 4 generations, the organic, the “L’Arbouse”, the Syrah, the best red in the Pic Saint-Loup, ~€20), the Clos Marie (the biodynamic, the “Métairies du Clos”, the Syrah and the Grenache, the best wine in the Languedoc, ~€40), the La Roque (the organic, the “Cupa Numismae”, the Mourvèdre, the garrigue, the best-value luxury wine in the Languedoc, ~€25), the Terrasses du Larzac (the plateau above the Hérault Valley, the cool nights, the slow ripening, the freshness, the essential domaine: the Mas Jullien (the Olivier Jullien, the pioneer, the “L’Olivette”, the Roussanne, the best white in the Languedoc, ~€30), and the La Pèira (the Coteaux du Languedoc, the Stéphane Derenoncourt, the “Les Obriers”, the Grenache, the Syrah, the Mourvèdre, the best value estate wine in the Languedoc from the Robert Parker’s “the Lafite of the Languedoc,” ~€25). More France →
• The dining, the essential restaurants: The Languedoc is the combination of the French cuisine and the Mediterranean, and the essential restaurants: the La Réserve Rimbaud in the Montpellier (the Jean-Luc Rabanel, the organic, the garden, the “Menu du Jardin”, the lunch, the 3 courses, the €45, and the best-value Michelin-starred lunch in the France), the Le Mimosa in the St-Guilhem-le-Désert (the village, the UNESCO, the most beautiful in the Languedoc, the restaurant, the Bridget Pugh, the evening set menu, the €65, and the best meal in the Hérault Valley. The essential booking: the months in advance for the summer weekends), the Auberge du Vieux Puits in the Fontjoncouse (the 3 stars, the Gilles Goujon, the €115 for the lunch, the cheapest 3-star lunch in the France, and the best meal in the Languedoc). The essential food: the cassoulet (the Toulouse, the beans, the duck, the sausage, the breadcrumb crust, and the essential Languedoc dish. The best: the La Maison du Cassoulet in the Carcassonne, the €20, and the best cassoulet in the region), the oysters (the Bouzigues, the étang de Thau, the largest oyster farm in the France, the Bouzigues oyster, and the essential Languedoc experience: the table at the edge of the lagoon, the dozen oysters, the €12, and the bottle of the Picpoul de Pinet, the local white, the €8, and the best-value lunch in the France)