Wine tasting Mas Des Cabrettes November 2022 Bd Olivier October 29

The Cevennes vineyard

A terroir of character where a great diversity of wines and talents are expressed.

Known as a vast Mediterranean territory with preserved nature, the Cevennes harbor little-known treasures, including a vineyard that is increasingly appreciated by connoisseurs for the diversity of its grape varieties and its quality wines. Welcome to the heart of a destination labeled “Vignobles & Découvertes”; a land of character without equivalent in the south of France, where some 80 estates and cellars have some very nice surprises in store.

Land of character

What you need to know about Cévennes wines

When talking aboutwines in the Cevennes, France’s best sommelier, Philippe Nusswitz, describes our vineyard as an incredible territory offering wines with incomparable freshness and beautiful concentration. Do you enjoy PGIs too? Then “spread the word”: the Protected Geographical Indication “Cévennes” is worth a look!

Located in the former so-called Languedoc region in the south of France, the Cévennes vineyard takes its name from the Cevennes Massif, the last foothills of the Massif Central. Mostly cultivated on clay-limestone, shale, acidic soils and the alluvial plain of the Piedmont, this vineyard is part of ahilly landscape shaped by rivers with dreaded floods where orchards, olive trees and ancestral cereal crops are grown side by side.

Amplified with the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) of the wines of the Duchy of Uzès (whose area extends as far as Anduze), the recognition of the Cevennes vineyard has become for many an obvious one since the obtaining of the title PGI in 2011.

Take the time to discover or rediscover the 80 estates and wineries of the territory with the “Wines of the Cevennes” tourist map.

Card "Wines of the Cevennes

The Cévennes vineyard, in figures

A limited production of 80,000 hectoliters per year
A sixty or so private wineries
A twenty or so cooperative wineries
80% of the sales are made locally.

Characteristics of Cévennes wines

Elegance, freshness and suppleness. Generally combining elegance, freshness and suppleness, the wines of the Cévennes vineyards are made by passionate people whom we invite you to meet during your stay or the time of a small escape in the Cévennes.

Environmental approach

The Cévennes PGI wines have a style an identity that is asserted today with producers and wine merchants for the most part committed or engaging in an organic approach. Yes, in the Cevennes, we care about the preservation of biodiversity and you will often see grasslands lying in the vineyards and small hedges to preserve the natural environment. The Cevennes PGI is also one of the denominations that offers the most organic wines for several decades, with labels such as AB, HVE, Terras Vitis. Many Cevennes wines are also sulfite-free.

Wine tasting Mas Des Cabrettes November 2022 Bd Olivier October 7

Wine tasting Mas Des Cabrettes November 2022 Bd Olivier October 12

Diversity of grape varieties

Grenache, Syrah, Pinot noir, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Sauvignon, Viognier, Vermentino, Gewurztraminer, Riesling,… Since the PGI denomination accepts all the grape varieties authorized in France, Cévennes wines offer a very wide diversity in this area, some of which are quite original, even unknown in other regions of France or simply forgotten. But the grape variety is not everything: each winemaker brings his own style and it is this freedom, this open-mindedness, that singularizes the identity of the Cevennes PGI.

Red, white, rosé

Red wines

In Cévennes, red wines are characterized by their elegance, aromatic power and variable tannic structures depending on the winemaking technologies used.They can be kept on average between 2 to 5 years and it is recommended to serve them at a temperature between 14°C and 16°C.

White Wines

Benefiting in summer from very sunny days followed by cool nights, the white wines of the Cevennes express themselves with finesse and freshness with beautiful floral notes. Serve at a temperature of 9° or 10°C.

Rosé wines

The Cévennes rosés are supported by a nice fruitiness in the mouth, well balanced and without “cheating”. The vinification techniques are indeed very strict and forbid themselves any mixture of red and white wine. They can be kept for an average of 1 to 2 years. To fully appreciate them, serve them at a temperature between 8°C and 12°C.

Did you know that?

The evolution of the grape varieties engaged in the last forty years or so has allowed the winegrowers a diversification of their products, notably with the introduction of earlier grape varieties particularly well adapted to the Mediterranean climate.

The vine thus has its full place in the local agricultural economy and contributes, along with sweet onions, chestnuts and Pélardon to name but a few, to the fame of the products of the Cevennes.

A certified destination

Vignobles & Découvertes

“Vignobles & Découvertes”, what does it mean?

Awarded by Atout France and the Conseil Supérieur de l’Œnotourisme, “Vignobles & Découvertes” is a national label awarded to a tourist and wine destination offering multiple, complementary and quality tourist products in terms of accommodation, restaurants, cellar visits and tastings, museums and events – all of which allow, the customer, to easily organize their stay and be directed to qualified services.

The local tourism and wine offer fulfilling these criteria, our destination is therefore labeled “Vignobles & Découvertes” since 2017 and federates a whole network of actors committed to a qualitative approach for the development of the Cevennes vineyards : winegrowers, winemakers and wine merchants but also accommodation providers, restaurant owners as well as managers of tourist sites, tourist offices, receptive structures and events… All are presented to you in our “wine tourism” section.

Wine tasting Mas Des Cabrettes November 2022 Bd Olivier October 30

Wine tasting Mas Des Cabrettes November 2022 Bd Olivier October 4

Tourism & vineyards in the Cevennes: a long history

Rich with a strong identity based on a heritage of attachment to freedom and resistance, the Cevennes today represent an attractive destination for wine lovers and any visitor sensitive to respect for nature.

Working the vine in the Cevennes has never been easy and for many centuries, the wine here was only consumed locally. The reasons are various, starting with the absence of large areas easy to cultivate as well as difficulties related to the climate (especially during the winters of 1709 and 1948), not to mention religious persecutions, military occupations, economic crises… It was only in the 19th century that the cultivation of vines began to develop in the Cévennes, without however imposing itself in monoculture as it was the case in the lower plain of Languedoc. The reason: the Cévenol temperament, this fiber of rebellion, of free conscience, this impossibility to bend to a single thought, to a standardized culture of the vine, which translates then by the impossibility of the cooperative cellars to merge.Another proof of this spirit of resistance is the strong anchoring of “forbidden” (but “disease resistant”) grape varieties in family farms. It is also not anecdotal that a festive event has chosen the name of “Vignes réboussières” (the “réboussier” being an intrinsically rebellious and oppositional character). Finally, it must be recognized that the wines identified as “Cévennes” are in IGP, a sign of quality offering more freedom to the winegrowers than in AOP.

Vignes November 2022 Bd Olivier October
©Vignes November 2022 Bd Olivier October|Olivier Octobre
Wine tasting Mas Des Cabrettes November 2022 Bd Olivier October 25
©Wine tasting Mas Des Cabrettes November 2022 Bd Olivier October 25|Olivier Octobre
Occupying nowadays a special place in the agricultural economy of the territory, the vine now contributes, alongside other traditional agricultural crops, to the fame of the Cévennes. Even better: associated with the development of the tourist economy, these local productions ensure a new balance contributing to the maintenance of landscapes shaped by human activities over the centuries.
Because of this authenticity of heritage and character, the “Cévennes Vineyard” destination thus offers visitors amodern portrait of what the vineyard will be like tomorrow, while giving a glimpse of another facet of the Cévennes,between a tradition of resistance and a precursor vineyard.

Wine events
Our favorites
Les Vignes réboussières
The event takes place every year on the last Sunday of October. The Cévennes PGI wine walk takes place at a PGI estate. Fourteen winemakers present their wines to visitors in a festive, offbeat and decidedly artistic atmosphere. Several food trucks provide catering and entertainment for children are offered.
Excellence in Cevennes
Organized every year on the 3rd weekend of July, in the Parc des Cordeliers in Anduze, this meeting allows you to discover the Cevennes PGI wines in all simplicity and without reservation. About twenty winemakers are present, with whom you can exchange and share in a good mood!Tasting pass : 6€
Wine Festival
In May, in the village of Saint-Just and Vacquières, come and discover about 20 winemakers and more than 70 wines represented.

You will also like
Vézénobres Drone 65
©Vézénobres Drone 65
History of the fig in Vézénobres
Mushroom and Chestnut picking
©Mushroom and Chestnut picking|Olivier Octobre
The history of the chestnut tree in the Cevennes
Garrigue of Gard
©Garrigue of Gard
Vines and scrubland