Wine tourism: Exploring Pays d’Oc

SPONSORED CONTENT: Brimming with medieval history, rolling vineyards, quaint canal-side towns and cosmopolitan cities, not to mention world-class winemakers, it’s a wonder that Pays d’Oc – a vast vineyard within the Languedoc-Roussillon – isn’t fit to bursting point with tourists.

Chateau Lorgeril

Stretching along the Mediterranean coast to the height of the Pyrenees, the Pays d’Oc vineyard is the largest and most diverse in the world, with Pays d’Oc IGP wines at the heart of its production. But despite its many draws, those looking to visit the south of France have tended to overlook the Pays d’Oc as a tourist destination, and instead chosen to visit the ‘other’ south of France. For most, that means the French Riviera, pretty Provence, celeb spotting in Cannes and super-yachts in Monaco, towns that dot the always-packed Côte d’Azur on France’s eastern Mediterranean coast. Far fewer look west toward the Pays d’Oc in the Languedoc-Roussillon.

Its pleasant lack of crowds is central to its charm, which is perhaps why this French-Mediterranean haven has remained something of a well-kept secret among its devotees – it is anything but a tourist-trap. Soaked in sun for 300 days of the year, the Pays d’Oc offers the same climate and stunning scenery of its high-profile neighbours, but at a far less hurried pace, not to mention a wealth of winemaking talent.

“There are vines that plunge into the Mediterranean sea and the ponds, there are vines at the feet of the Cevennes and in the massifs of Limoux, others that wind along the Canal du Midi,” recalls Jacques Gravegeal, president of the Pays d’Oc Wine Producers’ Union. “The most breathtaking for me are the vines at the feet of the City of Carcassonne. The luck of the Pays d’Oc is its diversity of landscapes. It has extraordinary cultural wealth and is totally unique.”

In the past decade the vineyard’s touristic offer has not only expanded but also grown in scope, with Pays d’Oc IGP winemakers more aware than ever of the power of oenotourism, not only to entice tourists to their estates and create additional revenue streams, but to build international brand recognition. The Pays d’Oc is now home to a raft of five-star wine experiences, with tourists able to take their pick of luxury accommodation, from stately châteaux and vineyard gîtes to boutique B&Bs. The region’s culinary offer, while always of a high standard, is also expanding to include Michelin-starred restaurants and an increasing number of estate-based restaurants, with various gastronomic wine tours also springing up – some of which include foraging for the region’s famed black truffle – all of which complement the growing quality of Pays d’Oc IGP wines.

Pays d’Oc refers to a 120,000 hectare vineyard in the Languedcoc-Roussillon

Accounting for more than half of all wine production in the Languedoc-Roussillon, it is the great many Pays d’Oc IGP producers that present one of the most compelling reasons to pay the Pays d’Oc a visit, as its winemakers continue to step up their tourist offer in an effort to bring their vineyards to life. One of the early pioneers of the Pays d’Oc, Jean-Claude Mas has led Domaines Paul Mas since 2000, and has long been banging the drum for tourism, bringing his vision of “luxe rural” to its vineyards, and the wider Languedoc-Roussillon. This year the domaine, which has a portfolio comprising 12 estates and 650 hectares of vineyards, announced plans to expand its touristic offer at its two suites in Montagnac, which is also home to its award-winning restaurant, Côte Mas.

“The modern concept of luxury isn’t simply about opulence,” said Jean-Claude Mas of the expansion. “Luxury has been redefined: people now want authenticity and a real sense of place – this is the type of experience we must give our guests.” Indeed, the search for authenticity is what’s driving tourism in the Pays d’Oc, with many producers keen to offer ever more original, inventive and luxurious wine experiences. “There is so much wine everywhere that you need to have a real story,” says Heidi van den Akker of marketing company Heidi & Hub, and marketing and communications manager for Château Lorgeril, which, nearly 20 years ago, recognised the importance of developing a touristic offer, initially to help woo its overseas buyers. “People want to dream when they come to the estate. They want to find what they see in the marketing of a brand. They want to see that everything is true, not just a made-up brand.”

Château Lorgeril, which produces a range of Pays d’Oc IGP wines, manages four estates and has a history dating back to the 17th century. It maintains a restaurant and a boutique wine shop that also hosts tastings and wine-education sessions, and also offers luxury accommodation and bespoke packages to visiting tourists at its properties, including the stately Château de Pennautier – a 24-bedroom historic monument. Château de Ciffre, meanwhile, sleeps up to 14, allowing groups to “rent a house with a swimming pool in the middle of a vineyard”, says Van den Akker. For those seeking a classically French experience, the Lorgeril team will arrange the rental of a Citroën 2CV to explore the vineyards in, as well as historical tours of Carcassonne and vineyard picnics. The team also hosts an annual Christmas market at Château de Pennautier, and an easter egg hunt at Château de Ciffre.

Pretty Pays d’Oc. Calmel & Joseph’s estate. Credit: LC Vision

“If you want to sell your wines and be visible in Pays d’Oc and the south of France, you need to have a kind of oenotourism,” says Van den Akker. “You are not obliged to have everything like a restaurant and cellar, but people are travelling much more through Pays d’Oc and we need to have places for them to visit and stay, which is also a way of making the Pays d’Oc more lively.” As tourism grows, a knock-on effect has been the creation of jobs, as more producers choose to open their doors to visitors. “Pays d’Oc is becoming much more open to the world,” says Van den Akker. “Today, we have one person that’s dedicated only to oenotourism. Producers are realising that you have to speak English and communicate with people. Years ago it was much more closed. It’s going to grow and the quality of our touristic offer is going to improve.”

Highlighting the increasing importance of wine tourism in the Pays d’Oc, and the growing influence of oenotourism worldwide, is Domaine Gayda, which was founded 12 years ago with the aim of becoming a ‘destination winery’. An organic estate in the village of Brugairolles, south west of the city of Carcassonne, Domaine Gayda takes its lead from South Africa, where “every winery has a restaurant or an art gallery”, says co-founder Tim Ford.

Introducing its concept to Pays d’Oc in 2004, co-owners Ford and Anthony Record said their intention was to “create the new face of wine and cuisine for the region”, having teamed up with winemaker Vincent Chansault and chef Jean-Christophe Gille for the project. An on-site restaurant was a priority, along with the provision of five gîtes, capable of sleeping up to 24 people. The estate also has a shop, with sales driven in part by the restaurant, and a wine school, presided over by French wine expert Matthew Stubbs MW.

“We came up with the idea of creating a destination winery, inspired by South Africa,” explains Ford. “We wanted to bring the place to life through the people. From May to September we get anywhere from 70 to 100 people a day. That’s all brand building. Not only are we creating a destination, but people are discovering Pays d’Oc IGP wines and helping to build a global brand – it’s free marketing.”

As well as hosting concerts in the summer, Domaine Gayda also holds weddings at its estate, a service that Ford says is complementary to the business as people inevitably drink their wines and stay in its accommodation. Following their nuptials, Ford plants an olive tree in honour of the newly wedded couple. “We are so proud of what we are doing,” adds Ford. “It brings the place to life. That’s the whole point. Our workers see people around and they get motivated. We can always do more and we would love to do more.”

Domaine Gadya’s estate restaurant

While Domaine Gayda was early to pick up on the power of wine tourism in the Pays d’Oc, there is now growing enthusiasm from a fresh wave of producers keen to push the boundaries of their offer beyond the obligatory cellar tour, wine tasting and shop visit. While traditional wine estate visits and tasting are the bread and butter of the Pays d’Oc’s developing wine tourism industry, this group of winemakers is helping to shape its future.

“Tourism is a springboard,” explains Sandy Dreyer, wine tourism manager for Pays d’Oc IGP négociant Calmel & Joseph. Last year Calmel & Joseph bought a 200-hectare estate just outside of Carcassonne, mainly to use as its head office. However, the sprawling estate now boasts luxury accommodation and an increasing number of wine-related activities, with its owners recognising the importance of oenotourism in promoting not only the Pays d’Oc as a tourist destination, but its IGP wines.

“Tourism allows us to create a picture of our brand and what we are doing,” adds Dreyer. “Tourism is growing because a new generation understands that it’s very important. You can find crazy ideas around wine tourism today. Everybody can go to a wine cellar, have a tasting and buy a bottle. It’s more powerful to have new ideas to propose to customers.” As far as Calmel & Joseph is concerned, Dreyer suggested that an afternoon of wild-flower foraging followed by a tasting that complements the aromas of picked flowers might be a viable endeavor in the future. Other already available options include a vineyard tour by moped or mountain bike.

“You need to be different because there are so many very good estates,” adds Dreyer. “The wine cellar and the wine shop are too common. You need to produce something else and for that you need to be different.”

Motorcycle tours with Calmel & Joseph

The more dedicated wine tourist can gain hands-on experience in the Pays d’Oc by helping out at any number of estates with a harvest, which is followed by the annual Grape Harvest Festival at Banyuls-sur-Mer. Here, 7,000 people come together each year to celebrate the end of the harvest by taking part in a week of convivial tastings and feasts, culminating with a traditional beach barbecue set to the fanfares of a brass band. This event is almost immediately followed by the Pruning Festival, which marks the start of winter. The event is held in Narbonne in December at Chateau l’Hospitalet, owned by renowned Languedoc-Roussillon and Pays d’Oc IGP winemaker Gérard Bertrand. For history buffs, the medieval fortress at Carcassonne will offer ample exploration, while from mid-June to mid-August the city hosts a summer arts festival, featuring opera, classical and rock concerts to theatre and dance performances (festivaldecarcassonne.fr). Montpellier, meanwhile, hosts a classical music festival in July (festivalradiofrancemontpellier.com), followed by a dance festival (montpellierdanse.com) in October. While arts, culture, cuisine and history are abundant, for those looking to explore the world of wine there is perhaps no better place than the Pays d’Oc.

As one of the largest vineyards in the world, you can drive from one end to the other in less than four hours, travelling across a multitude of soil types in the process and a plethora of wines to discover. As Domaine Gayda’s Ford points out: “We have seven to eight distinct [soil types] which would take you eight days to drive between in Australia. We have that much diversity within an hour’s drive. Granite, limestone, alluvial – we have every soil you can imagine in a very small area. We have the most diverse vineyard of any region in the world.”

Once a wine destination for those ‘in the know’, producers in the Pays d’Oc are now waking up to the rewards of wine tourism. Pays d’Oc still has some way to go before its oenotourism offer is as developed as that of Bordeaux or Burgundy, but its IGP producers are undeniably enthusiastic about expanding and improving their services, which bodes well for the future. “We are only scratching the surface,” adds Ford.

“If you can get people down here, the economic effect is instant and the knock-on effect is people hearing about and tasting our wines, and ultimately getting rid of old perceptions that just aren’t true anymore. We have the history, we have the soils and we have the quality.”

Click through for a snapshot of some of the Pays d’Oc’s must-visit towns and cities…

Note: This feature was parts of a report sponsored by wine trade association Pays d’Oc IGP.

Montpellier

The capital of the Hérault département, Montpellier is the eighth-largest city in France. Today it is a stylish and modern metropolis with a plethora of high-end shops and restaurants, as well as a wealth of medieval history to explore.

Carcassonne

Based in the département of Aude, Carcassonne is one of the most beautiful cities in the Languedoc-Roussillon. Rich in history, it’s best known for its Cité de Carcassonne – a medieval fortress founded during the Gallo-Roman period and restored by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1853. Since 1997 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Limoux

Located on the River Aude, Limoux is a small French town that comes to life in January and March when guests visit for the Carnival of Limoux – a traditional carnival dating back 400 years, which sees people parade through the streets in costumes each weekend.

Béziers

One of the oldest cities in France, Béziers dates from 575 BC. Every August, the town hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, a five-day festival centred on bullfighting that attracts a million visitors.

Nîmes

The capital of the Gard département, Nîmes is known for its Roman architecture, which includes a 2,000-year-old temple. The city is also known the home of a hard-wearing twill fabric known as serge de Nîmes, otherwise known as denim.