Remaking Traditions

In the face of climate change, some Old World winemakers are accelerating their vineyard management technology and repositioning business opportunities to stay ahead of the game. GUILLAUME BARRAUD of the Gérard Bertrand Group in Languedoc-Roussillon explains how.

- YANNI TAN

While wine collectors would no doubt be familiar with the famous French wine regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, those who have sampled vino from Languedoc-Roussillon in south-eastern France would certainly be impressed with their offerings. Aside from the region's lively and full-bodied reds, and zesty unoaked whites, it also produces good sparkling, rosé and fortified wines. Unpretentious and good value-for-money, wines from this region are, after all, made for enjoying with a hearty meal.

Bordered by the Mediterranean Sea in the south and the Pyrenees mountains in the west, Languedoc-Roussillon boasts conditions perfect for wine growing. In addition to an impressive range of soil and terroir, it is also home to a large variety of disease- and pest-resistant grapes.

Less, however, is known about the pedigree of the wines here. Guillaume Barraud, Gérard Bertrand Group's director of winemaking, says, "What may surprise people is that Languedoc-Roussillon has been a vine region for over half a million years. Vine pollen was discovered in a prehistoric cave of Tautavel, where humans were already living 560,000 years ago. The Romans saw the potential of the region when they first occupied it, declaring an area Narbo Martius (Narbonne in French), which translates to 'first daughter of Roma"."

Having been established as the capital of the first Roman colony in 118 BCE in what's then known as Gaul, Narbonne became a wine region that shipped wine amphoras to other parts of the Roman empire. "Here, lots of wine trade practices were experimented on," adds the agricultural engineer and oenologist who would continue in this region's great tradition of innovation as part of a new generation of winemakers to fight climate change and preserve the legacy of winemaking heritage.