Terres du Midi

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical area extends across the departments of Gard, Hérault, Aude, and Pyrénées-Orientales, as well as a few communes of Lozère.
• The most representative soils are acidic schists on upper hillsides, calcareous soils on viticultural plateaux and plains, and gravelly alluvial terraces — all dry, low-fertility soils that favour deep root penetration.
• From the mountains of the Cévennes, the Montagne Noire, and the Pyrenean foothills down to the lagoon-fringed coastline, the zone forms a vast amphitheatre opening towards the Mediterranean, traversed by the Aude, the Orb, the Hérault, the Vidourle, and the Gardon.
• Several winds blow across the zone, including a sea breeze sweeping in from the Gulf of Lion and a dry, powerful northerly or westerly wind (Tramontane, cers, and Mistral) that contributes to the healthy sanitary condition of the vineyards.
• The territory combines three distinct ensembles — mountains and high plateaux, foothills and intermediate plateaux, and the coastal plain — with vine monoculture stretching from the Rhône delta to the Spanish border.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 31 janvier 2023
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — Confédération des Vins IGP de France