France, Languedoc – Wines of the Languedoc

Limoux & the Malepère Vineyards

We start the tour with a visit to the little know appellation of Malepère and to one of the leading wine producers in the area where you will enjoy a private tour of the winery followed by an extensive tasting of red, rosé and white wines. During the visit you will learn about wine production in the Languedoc and visit the barrel room to discover how maturing wine in barrel is not just about oak flavour.

Lunch is a three course meal sourced from local and seasonal produce accompanied by delicious wines of the region. It will take place at one of the family owned restaurants in the pretty town of Limoux. Afterwards you will have the time for a short stroll around the town before we head off to our next visit.

The afternoon will focus on the sparkling wines made in the Limoux area. We will visit a top class producer and here we will learn how sparkling wines are made using the traditional method, just like Champagne. However unlike the Champagne area this region makes 3 styles of sparkling wines; Blanquette du Limoux, Crémant du Limoux and Blanquette Ancestral, a delicious sweet sparkling wine, very unusual and very palatable!

We finish the day with a short drive to the abbey of St Hilaire where the world’s first sparkling wine was created by the monks in 1531. This is a beautiful abbey and we will spend a little time walking through the cloisters and taking a look at the wine cellar along with other historical buildings before heading back to Carcassonne.

Overnight Carcassonne

Meals B, T(Wines), L, T(Wines)

The Corbières Vineyards

The Corbières is a region of contrasts where cicadas sing, and buzzards circle lazily against a blue sky, over wild, windswept garrigue. The vineyards are perched on rocky hillsides and the roads wind round and round as you make your way towards today’s first vineyard visit – a family owned domaine in the village of Monseret.

The vineyards are situated in the heart of the Boutenac region, an area dedicated to the culture of the vine since Roman times and the only cru in the Corbières. Take a walk through the vines, some of them more than a century old, and then enjoy a tour of the winery. It is also ancient but has modernised to use the latest techniques for the production of fabulous Corbières wines.

The award winning reds are made from a blend of Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah and the whites from Marsanne and Roussanne.

After an extensive tasting of Corbières and Corbières-Boutenac wines you will head for the beautiful village of Lagrasse where you’ll be welcomed into the home of one of the villagers for a typical Languedoc lunch that ‘the lady of the house’ will prepare just for you.

Following lunch take a fascinating stroll around Lagrasse one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and learn some of the history that spans at least 1000 years. Your route will take you through the narrow cobbled ‘ruelles’ and along the way, between the town and the abbey, in squares and behind facades, there are stories to be told and a fascinating medieval history to be revealed.

There’s an opportunity to take a browse through some of the small boutiques and also visit the vinegar maker and taste his wares.

Then it’s time to head off to the final visit of the day in a nearby village. Here you will meet father and son winemakers producing top quality Corbières wines from a small winery in the heart of their village – voted as one of the best French vineyard tours!

Overnight Carcassonne

Meals B, T(Wines), L, T(Wines)

Canal du Midi Wine Tour

Start this fabulous day with a visit to one of the best independent olive producers in Languedoc, where excellent oils are produced using local olive varieties. Learn how the olives are grown and harvested and made into oil. This is followed by a tasting of oils and olives including the Rolls Royce of all Olives, the Lucques variety.

From here it’s just a short drive to the village of Le Somail one the prettiest ports along the Canal du Midi where you join a boat for a one hour private cruise. Along the way you’ll be entertained with a delicious tasting of Languedoc wines and have the story of the Canal explained.

Lunch is always a very important part of the day and today will be a three course meal in the Minervois countryside, made from fresh and local ingredients.

After lunch it’s time to visit the beautiful village of Minerve where your guide will explain the role this village played in the Cathar crusade which took place over 800 years ago, then there will be a little free time to stroll through this bijou village.

Now it’s time to take the pretty drive through the Occitanie countryside to visit one of the finest wine producers of Minervois wines in the Languedoc where we will enjoy a private tour of the winery and learn how the wines are grown and made. This is followed by a delicious tasting of their expressive wines.

Overnight Carcassonne

Meals B,T(Olive Oil), T(Wines), L, T(Wines)

Farewell

Check out after breakfast and depart for your onward journey, with many beautiful memories of the Languedoc region.

Meals B