Vineyard Visit in Montpellier

Montpellier is home to its very own vineyard, just a few minutes outside the main city center. Although the Langudeuc region is not known for its fine wines, it is the largest producing region in France. Some refer to the region as the “wine lake” due to the mass production of wine taking place. Usually, the wines from there are table wines or lower quality everyday wines. It is also known for producing roses, particularly in the summer

We first took a tour of the “mansion” on the chateau, which was filled with old items that had been used there in the last couple hundred years. This was not the reason we were all there, however. The wine tasting, which consisted of one white, one rose, and two reds, took place with the wine producer leading the discussion. I like one of the reds, and all 4 were decent. One common flaw I found is the lack of depth and complexity. The red that I liked did have some balance with a hint of tobacco/smoke and a fair level of fruit flavor. Maybe all the hype of French wine led me to expect more, but looking back it was decent wine at a very reasonable price of about 10 Euro. Would I drink it again? Yes. Would I buy it again? Maybe not.

After the tasting we went out to the vineyard itself. It was cool walking through and seeing the grapes on the vines. When he was explaining the wines and discussing everything that goes into winemaking while at the vineyard, I could really sense from the winemaker the passion and the amount of care that goes into making wine. I would have like to see the area where the wine is actually made, but I’m not sure that they make that available for tours.