Faugères (; also known as Coteaux-du-Languedoc Faugères) is an ''
Appellation d'origine contrôlée
In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
'' (AOC) in the
Languedoc-Roussillon wine
Languedoc-Roussillon wine (), including the ''vin de pays'' labeled ''Vin de Pays d'Oc'', is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century (e ...
region in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and is named after the town of
Faugères, which lies 30 km north of
Béziers
Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...
, in the foothills of the
Massif Central, in the département of
Hérault
Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...
. It is a local classification within the
Coteaux-du-Languedoc AOC.
History
The Middle Ages
Faugères is not the oldest winemaking area in
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
. In the Middle Ages, its land was mainly used for growing grain, and olives. However, there was some
viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
, most notably the production of
altar wine.
The Modern Period
Faugères started to flourish as a wine-producing area around the time of the
French Revolution, i.e. around the start of the 19th century. Local wine was in fact mainly used to produce a type of ''
eau de vie
An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 ) is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light.
In English-speaking countries, ''eau de vie ...
'', using a distilling method from the
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...
region, that was previously unknown in the Languedoc. This method was called 'fine', so this eau de vie was named 'Fine Faugères'.
Recent history
*1948: The Faugères
terroir
(; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
's borders were defined, in the aftermath of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and remain unchanged to this day.
*1955: each type of Faugères wine (red, white and rosé) was classified as
Appellation d'Origine Vin de Qualité Supérieure
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...
(
VDQS).
*1960s: Violent storms destroyed part of the Faugères vineyards, torrential rain gullying the vines. Some plots of land were buried in landslides. Vines were replanted along the contour lines of the newly formed land.
*1982: Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP Faugères) classification replaced the VDQS status for the red and rosé Faugères wines.
*2000: Eau de vie production was recommenced in Faugères.
*2005: AOC replaced VDQS status for the white Faugères wines.
*2017:
Appellation d'Origine Protégée replaces the former AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) label, within the framework of new 'quality' ladder (following a national reform of the wine quality labels in France).
Etymology
The name of the AOC comes from the village Faugères, whose earliest known written form, dating back to 934 AD, was ''de Falgarias''. This in turn is taken from the Latin ''filicaria'', meaning "fern" in English, and translating into French as "fougère".
Geography
Orography
The appellation area covers 1800 hectares, and consists mainly of primary, schist soils. The majority of the region's vineyards have full southern exposure and lie on rugged slopes. Some hills in the northern area of the appellation area reach altitudes higher than 500m. The Departmental Director of Agriculture, in collaboration with 'SAFER' (French regional societies for the development of land and rural establishments), have experimented setting up vineyards along contour lines, which serves to limit the effects of erosion.
Geology
The Faugères AOC soil is mainly composed of
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...
. This schist is metamorphic rock, the result of excessive pressure on clay deposits during the Paleozoic Era and of the formation of the
Massif Central to the North. Schist is characterised by its capacity to retain large amounts of water (up to a third of its volume) and its heat-storing properties, absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night. Faugères winemakers often say that their grapes ripen overnight. A geological curiosity exists in the
Cabrerolles commune - a meteor crater resulting from the impact of a twenty metre-wide bolite meteorite circa 10,000 years ago. The crater has Syrah vines planted in it (two stages of planting in 1984, then in 1992) which produces a wine from the 'Domaine du Météore'.
Climate
This terroir enjoys a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
with mountainous influences, characterised by gentle winters, hot, dry summers, and a low amount of rainfall that comes mainly in the winter months. Its main winds are the
Tramontane
Tramontane ( ) is a classical name for a northern wind. The exact form of the name and precise direction varies from country to country. The word came to English from Italian , which developed from Latin ( + ), "beyond/across the mountains", r ...
, a dry and cold wind that blows clouds away, and the
Marin, a humid wind that, contrarily, brings clouds in. The climate can sometimes be very harsh. The table below records temperatures and rainfall for 2007:
Wine region
Overview
The Faugères appellation stretches across the following communes:
Autignac,
Cabrerolles (Includes the hamlets of Lentheric, Liquière and Aigues-Vives),
Caussiniojouls
Caussiniojouls is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.
Winemaking
Caussiniojouls is one of the seven communes which produces Faugères AOC wine.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Hérault department
A commune is a ...
,
Faugères,
Fos,
Laurens and
Roquessels
Roquessels (; Languedocien: ''Ròcacèls'') is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Roquessels are called ''Roquesselois''
Winemaking
Roquessels is one of the seven com ...
Grape varieties
The main grape varieties in Faugères are
Carignan
Carignan (; also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...
,
Cinsault
Cinsaut or Cinsault ( , ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and ...
,
Grenache
Grenache (; ) or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry condi ...
,
Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre (; also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world. It is found in the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla '' denominaciones de or ...
and
Syrah
Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...
for red and rosé wines.
Rousanne,
white Grenache,
Marsanne
Marsanne () is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known a ...
and
Vermentino
Vermentino is a light-skinned wine grape variety, primarily found in Italian wine. It is widely planted in both Sardinia and Liguria, to some extent in Corsica, in Piedmont under the name Favorita, and in increasing amounts in Languedoc-Roussillo ...
for
white wine
White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...
s. 80% of grape production is used to make
red wine
Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grape varieties - (red grapes.) The color of the wine can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, through to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines. The juice fro ...
.
Cultivation methods
Vines are planted against the slope to gain maximum sunlight from southern exposure. After violent storms in the 1960s, Faugères winemakers replanted a lot of vines along the terrain's contour lines. The vines are now adapted to the natural slope of the schist hillsides. Because of this, the erosive effects of heavy autumnal rain are much smaller than in other vineyards in the Languedoc. Similar projects are being considered by the
Saint-Chinian AOC and Coteaux du Languedoc areas.
Business structure
There are two
cooperative wineries and 44 winemakers in independent wineries (as of 2010).
Wine types
Faugères wines are rounded, with matured fruits and soft tannins.
Notes and references
See also
*
Languedoc wine
Languedoc-Roussillon wine (), including the '' vin de pays'' labeled ''Vin de Pays d'Oc'', is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century ( ...
*
List of vins de primeur
Vins de primeur (or ''nouveaux wines'') are French wines permitted by ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) regulations to be sold in the same year that they are harvested. The most widely exported nouveau wine is Beaujolais nouveau, whic ...
External links
Official website of Faugères wines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faugeres Aoc
Languedoc-Roussillon wine AOCs
Hérault