| A TRADITIONAL WINE-GROWING REGION |
Roussillon has known the art of wine-growing since the 7th century B.C., and it is in the most southern vineyards of France that the growers have perpetuated both tradition and a constant search for quality. This is why Côtes du Roussillon and Côtes du Roussillon Villages - classified as AOC by the decree of 28 March 1977 - have reached the top of the hierarchy of french wines.
Among all the plants cultivated in Roussillon today, vine is undoubtedly the oldest and the most traditional.Vine has always felt at home in this region. Its traces have even been discovered on the floor of the cave where the Tautavel man lived several hundred thousand years ago...
French law defines four categories of of wines, which are, in rising order of quality:
ordinary or everyday wine;
Vin de Pays, or regional wine;
VDQS, or superior wine;
AOC, or wine with controlled naming by origin.
The production of AOC wine is subjected to very strict rules which fix in particular:
the boundaries of the growing area;
the authorized grape varieties;
the number of vines and maximum authorized yield per hectare;
the production techniques.
There are thirteen AOC wines in Roussillon, each of them having its specific characteristics:
AOC Collioure;
Côtes du Roussillon;
Côtes du Roussillon Village;
Côtes du Roussillon Village - Caramany;
Côtes du Roussillon Village - Latour de France;
Côtes du Roussillon Village - Lesquerde;
Côtes du Roussillon Village - Tautavel;
Banyuls (Natural Sweet Wine);
Banyuls Grand cru (Natural Sweet Wine);
Maury (Natural Sweet Wine);
Muscat de Rivesaltes (Natural Sweet Wine);
Rivesaltes (Natural Sweet Wine);
Grand Roussillon (Natural Sweet Wine).
Please see maps below to locate the types of vines.
