France Vineyards for Sale

Vineyards for Sale in France

The French have been producing wine for centuries and France has become synonymous with quality and expensive wine. The cooler climate in which the french grow their wine grapes, results in a wine that is lighter bodied, lower in alcohol and has a higher acidity than warmer climate wines. Although other countries have recently begun producing some wonderful wines, France is still the number one producer and consumer of wine. Countries that are new to producing wine tend to name their wines after the grape due to the fact that these countries create wines using a single grape varietal such as California Chardonnay and Merlot. The French, however, name their wine after the region in which the grapes were grown such as Bordeaux and Burgundy since the French often use a mix of grape varietals to create their wine. Each French wine gets its unique flavor profile from it’s terroir. Terroir is the unique affect a region’s soil, climate and sunlight has on the grapes and each year the terroir will be different.  The terrior cannot be replicated even if the same exact methods are used. The most critically acclaimed red, white, sparkling and sweet wines come from France. Let’s renew our love affair with French wines by getting acquainted with one of it’s lesser known regions. 

The region of Languedoc

The Greeks were the first to plant grapes in Languedoc between 500 B.C. and the early A.D.s. With the arrival of the Romans, cultivation continued and increased. In the mid 1800s Languedoc grapes contracted a blight that destroyed the vines and nearly destroyed the region. In order to rescue the region’s vineyards, 2 Frenchmen concocted a plan to graft American vines with European vines. Although this plan was not popular with all French vintners, the task was accomplished and French vineyards began to flourish once again.

Languedoc is located in the south of France in the Mediterranean Coastal region known as the Occitanie Region. This region spans from the Spanish border in the southeast to Provence in the east. Although France, in general, grows its grapes in a cool climate, this area is part of the Mediterranean coast and as such has a typically warm and sunny Mediterranean climate. The wine from this region is rich and full bodied with an above average alcohol content compared to other French wines. When combined with nearby Roussillon, Languedoc is the largest wine – producing region in France with 1.3 billion liters of wine produced every year. That equals 1.8 billion bottles of wine. This region produces 40% of all wine exported from France. The region is also the largest producer of organic wine in France. The area produces rich full bodied reds, unoaked zesty whites and a variety of sweet wines. It is believed that the process used to create Champagne was discovered in the Languedoc region and documents have been discovered that support this theory. Long before the advent of Champagne, this area was producing Cremant de Limoux, a sparkling wine that has been around since 1531. In recent years, people from the U.S., New Zealand, Europe and even France have been relocating to Languedoc in order to take advantage of the area’s recent popularity and the new and younger wine makers’ more creative approach to wine making.

Often when we think of French wine, what comes to mind is tradition, quality and that it is expensive. Acquainting yourself with wine from the Languedoc region will dispel this notion. This region is only just becoming known for its wine and due to this fact the wine from this region tends to be less expensive. It is not, however of lesser quality. This makes wine from Languedoc an affordable choice for those who are new to wine or those new to French wine. The fact that Languedoc vintners are young, creative and forging a new way to make quality wine just means that you will be ahead of the curve.