An old story full of ups
and downs
The wine arrived in Languedoc Roussillon, called Gaulle
at that time, in the VII century thanks to the Etrusques
merchants. The wines imported from Greece were consumed
with pleasure and the first Gallic vine growers planted
their vine towards Massalia (Greek name of Marseilles).
The vine culture thus spred all around Marseille until
the arrival of the Romans with their wines of greater
quality. The Romans then adapted the grounds of Languedoc
Roussillon to cultivate better vine. The wine of the
area thus had benefited from the wide access to the
Mediterranean Sea and was exported in all the Romain
Empire.
The end of the Empire will mark the begining of one
of the black periods for the vine growing in our beautiful
area. The conquest of the Gaulle Narbonaise by the barbarians
(Visigoths and Francs) and the battles over the control
of the territory which followed ended up destroying
the work of the Romans. The devastated and abandoned
vines practically disappeared.
The monks of the area continued the culture of the vine
and thus ensured the survival of the vine growing in
the area. As they did for beer in other areas the monks
studied and developed the farming techniques of the
vine as well as the processes of wine making. These
new technics were improving greatly the quality of their
wines. They made an important discovery when they created
the first sparkling wine still produced today and called
Blanquette. This name is part of various names of the
wines of Languedoc which make the region proud. During
the period of the Middle Ages it became possible again
to export the wines of the area by sea.
The many wars which devastated the area put an end to
this commercial prosperity until the creation by Louis
XIV of the Port de Sète which was used as main
port for its vessels. The port then developed thanks
to the trade of the wines of the area. The Channel of
the South also led to the extension of wine exports
by opening a passage towards the interior of the land
and the kingdoms of Northen Europe.
Despite everything the vine growing in Languedoc was
still faced with difficult days during the Revolution,
in particular, which seriously weakened the vine growing
in Languedoc. and this does nt take into account the
difficulties related to the natural phenomena (freezing,
dryness, parasites, insects) which limited the outputs
of the vine.
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