The wines of the Southwest in 8 words

Rise: in the last three decades, the vineyards of Midi-Pyrénées have seen a spectacular rise in both quality and reputation.

Bold: behind this rise lies the bold approach, courage and conviction of an individual, a small group of wine growers or a family in practically every vineyard. Examples include Georges Vigouroux, Jean Jouffreau and Alain-Dominique Perrin in the Cahors region; Alain Brumont in the Madiran; Bernard and Robert Plageoles in the Gaillacois, and André Dubosc in the Saint Mont area.

People: these people have turned their vineyards around from the bad old days of high yields. They have demonstrated the quality of the old grape varieties worked to produce small yields. They have passed on their quest for perfection to a whole generation of wine growers. Each one, in their own way, has played their part in driving this process forward in their appellation, even if they've been branded as mad for doing so.

Grape varieties: paradoxically, it is the diverse range of grape varieties that has created the unique personality of the wines of the Southwest. These are native varieties, exclusively local, which have been part and parcel of the 'Southwest' for centuries. Braucol, duras and loin de l’œil in Gaillac; négrette in Fronton, malbec in Cahors, mansoï in Marcillac, etc.: this richness generates an original range of aromas and a uniquely distinct character for each and every wine.

St James's Way to Santiago de Compostela: these variations on the ancient pilgrimage route through the region are intimately connected with the wines of the Southwest, or perhaps it's the other way round. The monks in the abbeys dotted along the way were a key influence in the rapid development of local vineyards.
The Le Puy route runs through the appellations of Estaing, Cahors, Coteaux du Quercy, Armagnac and Côtes de Gascogne. The Arles route, for its part, winds its way through the vineyards of Gaillac, Saint Mont and Madiran.

Kings: the kings of France but also those of England loved the wines of the Southwest. They encouraged the continued practice of growing the local grape varieties which still make them stand out today. Henry II and Francis I were for example great fans of Cahors; Edward III considered Madiran to be "a wine of pageantry", while Francis I (him again!) described it as "a wine of lords".

Toulouse: undeniably the capital of the wines of the Southwest. As such, Toulouse, a Great Tourist Site enables 'its' wines to emerge from the shadow of those that historically have been its main rival: the wines of Bordeaux.

Wine growers: arriving at a winery, seeing the vigneron coming towards you, anticipating the delights of a tasting, enjoying a rambling conversation about the merits of the cabernet franc grape or the advantages of early-summer trimming to improve grape quality… These experiences are all so much more pleasurable in Occitania / Pyrenees-Mediterranean, where you'll meet straightforward, down-to-earth winemakers who are independent-minded or even rebellious and have a strong identity and often a feeling of being part of a team, where you'll sense the intimate alliance between terroir, grower and vine, and where the likeable trio of wine, gastronomy and rugby holds sway.

See also: www.france-sudouest.com, the website of the wines of the Southwest. Here you'll find information about all of the appellations, regions and grape varieties of the Southwest.

Occitania in a nutshell