RECOMMENDED WINES AND VINEYARD VISITS IN THE LANGUEDOC

Under no circumstances can I be considered a connoisseur of fine wine. I won't be so simplistic as to say that I don't know much about wine, but I know what I like. My palate is a bit more sophisticated than that. But you will never hear me describe a wine as, "A saucy little vintage, spicy with hints of leather, pine cones, and pineapple at the finish."

And the reader should be aware that I am no fan of the big California boutique wines. They are overly expensive and have too high an alcohol content for proper drinking. In a culture that considers wine the beverage of choice any time that food is taken with the possible exception of breakfast, an alcohol content of 8% to 10% is fine for table wine and 10% to 12% is about right for a special bottle for a special meal.

Consider this. Cathey and I consumed the equivalent of two bottles of wine over dinner at the Hotel Residence in Nissan-lez-Enserune one night, a rose at the start and a red for the main. They were perfect for the food and within the alcohol limits described above. We heaved ourselves into our rental and were promptly stopped at a checkpoint around a corner less than two blocks away. I passed the breathalyzer test at 0.0%. Two possible explanations present themselves:
1. The gendarmes were nice guys, took pity on the goofy Americain, and used a broken tester.
2. You can consume, enjoy, and metabolize a considerable amount of wine and still solve complex mathematical equations if the wine has the appropriate alcohol content, if you linger over a multi-course, work-of-art meal for two hours or more...and assuming that you were a mathematician in the first place.

Below are links to the vineyards that we visit when we are stocking our French cellar. Some of their wines are exported to the USofA, but often those wines are designed specifically for what the French vintner considers the American taste and are quite different from the wines available at the vineyard itself for local consumption. And please note that, with a couple of exception, we pay about $5.00 a bottle for rose and never more than $10 for any bottle.

1. Chateau Caza Viel: On the D14 near Cessenon sur Orb, generational winemaker Laurent Miquel has decided to specialize in viognier, a difficult grape, and its combinations.  The results are quite pleasant without being overly complicated and heavy. There's viognier, chardonnay viognier, syrah viognier, and more. The quality is excellent across the board. Their bottles are for drinking with dinner or a fine lunch.

2. Chateau Saint Martin des Champs: Just outside of Murviel les Beziers, this is land that has been in cultivation for hundreds of years. Decent rose that sells out early, the reds need cellaring for a few years to smooth out the tannins, and a very tasty ice wine called Christine’s. We don’t go there much anymore.

3. Domaine LaCroix-Belle: The tasting room is in Puissalicon. Decent chardonnay, a red called Red No. 7 that’s ready for drinking and quite drinkable, and a sweet little dessert wine called La Soulenque. If you’re around at the right time, their New Wine is cheap and tasty.

4. Caveaux Saint Laurent: (No link) On the main drag that runs along the south edge of Capestang, this little shop is where we buy our sipping rose – cheap, pleasant to look at, and easy to drink all day long.

5. Day Trip Vineyards: Mas de Daumas Gassac They go their own way and produce wine suited to the terroir that may not meet the strict requirements of the French viniculture Gods but that goes down divinely. We bought two bottles of their best red for about $50 a bottle and will have held it for six or eight years before we drink it. Between Gignac and Aniane on the D32. Mas Amiel Their Cuvee Speciale is a wonderful after-dinner wine, almost a port, that is fermented with added alcohol, left in the open air in large demijohns for a full year, then aged in huge oak casks for an additional 9 or 14 years. Near Maury on the road to the Pyrenees and the great ruined chateaux of Queribus and Peyerperteuse.