IGP Pays d'Oc wines awarded at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge

The Pays d'Oc Protected Geographical Indication covers the departments of Hérault, Aude, Gard and Pyrénées-Orientales, together with six communes in the south of Lozère. The vineyard forms a wide arc backed by the Pyrenees and the Cévennes, running along more than 200 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline, and spreads across three zones: the coastal plain, the first hills and foothills, and vineyards set at higher altitude further inland. Soils are highly varied — coastal sands, stony plateaus, clay-limestone hillsides — under a Mediterranean climate that enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year. This mosaic of terroirs supports the cultivation of 58 authorised grape varieties, reds including merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, grenache, cinsault, carignan and pinot noir, and whites including chardonnay, sauvignon and viognier. What sets Pays d'Oc apart from its neighbouring appellations of origin: more than nine wines in ten are made from a single grape variety, allowing the wine to be labelled with the name of its variety.