Languedoc Producer Opens Wine Tourism Center
New tasting room and restaurant aim to shift focus to wine in a region better known for its sun and surf
The Languedoc coastline, which draws about 15 million visitors a year to its beaches, has yet to find a way to draw tourists inland to discover the region's wines. However, a cooperative winery in Florensac called Les Vignerons de Florensac, located just a few miles from the Mediterranean, hopes the opening of its new $2.3 million wine tourism center next month will be a step in the right direction.
Though the Languedoc is one of the world's largest wine regions, wine-specific attractions for tourists are few and far between. This new complex, however, will include a contemporary tasting room featuring all the wines produced at the facility, a restaurant serving local fare, as well as wine- and food-education elements. "Even though people essentially come here to swim and sunbathe, they also enjoy taking time out to visit the hinterland, including to enjoy wine," said French tourism official Francine Morcello. Though to date, they haven't on any large scale.
The new tasting room will house interactive terminals dedicated to different wine-related themes such as the internationally known varieties grown by the vintners of Florensac (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah), as well as the locally preferred ones (Muscat, Viognier and Terret). The presentation will explain the varieties' different characteristics and how they're treated differently in the winemaking process. Additional activities such as wine-appreciation classes and cooking lessons will be offered later in the year.
The winery produces more than 650,000 cases per year, including Vin de Pays des Côtes de Thau and Vin de Pays d'Oc in red, white and rosé. It also produces the Languedoc appellation, Picpoul de Pinet, a dry white made from a regional grape variety of the same name.
Along with the new tasting room, the winery is opening a brasserie called Bistrot d'Alex, which will specialize in fresh local produce such as seafood from the fish market in nearby Adge, as well as shellfish from the oyster farms of Thau, about a 20-minute drive away. The restaurant will be overseen by two well-known local chefs, Alexandre and Jean-Claude Fabre, whose menu will offer three-course meals starting at $20 per person. The wines from Florensac, served by the glass or the bottle, will be available as well.
If similar projects aren't yet in the works, the winery's president, Thierry Lacoste, feels it's only a matter of time. "During my trips to wineries abroad, I noticed that a lot of guest books were signed by the same foreign tourists who come to Languedoc," he said. "Our initiative will most certainly inspire other local wine producers."
Les Vignerons de Florensac
Address: 5, Avenue des Vendanges — 34510 Florensac
Telephone: +33 (0) 467 77 00 20
E-mail: cave.florensac@wanadoo.fr
