C

bubbles
By Matthew Wexler

Those TINY Little

High Spirits

FORGET TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT WERE BUILTONE OF THE WORLDS GREATEST MYSTERIES IS THE ORIGIN OF SPARKLING WINE, WHICH MANY BELIEVE BEGAN IN LANGUEDOCROUSSILLON. ADD THE REGION TO YOUR WINE LOVERS BUCKET LIST TO UNEARTH AN EFFERVESCENT PAST UNIQUE TO THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.

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Restaurant Paulilles

at a more wallet-friendly price. The modern Blanquette de Limoux contains a minimum of 90 percent Mauzac (a variety indigenous to southwest France), with recent vintages exhibiting a robust, yeasty quality and beautiful hay color. Crmant de Limoux, a brut or medium dry sparkling wine that is distinct because of the regions particular appellation, relies on Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc and is meant to be drunk within two years of bottling. Blanquette de Limoux Mthode Ancestrale uses a fermentation process where the sediment from the secondary fermentation is left in the bottle, creating a sweeter sparkling wine, slightly cloudy with floral notes and stone fruit on the palette. Of course, the most authentic way to experience these wines is in LanguedocRoussillon itself, where you will find a sparkle in the eye as well as the bottle. Discovering a lush countryside dotted with dedicated winemakers, tasting rooms and local culture, youll wonder why Dom Prignon ever left.

weekend, or get even more serious with a WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) professional course. Take a break from the bottle and revel in the Limoux Carnival, which has been part of the citys history since the 16th century and runs weekends from January through March in the Place de la Rpublique.

a Point about Perrier

First utilized by the famed military commander Hannibal as a place to rejuvenate his troops, Perrierthe most famous sparkling water in the world comes from Vergze in LanguedocRoussillon. The property received its name in 1898 when Louis-Eugne Perrier purchased the estate and set about developing a sealed glass bottle that could hold this natural spring water that contains three times its volume in gas. Today, Perrier is in 150 countries, but you can have a family-friendly experience directly at the source with a visit to the Perrier Spring and Museum. n
Addresses Antech Limoux Wines antech-limoux.fr Gilles Louvet Wines vignobles-gilleslouvet.com Gerard Bertrand Wines gerard-bertrand.com Couvent dHrpian garrigae-resorts.com The Vincole vinecole.com Languedoc Roussillon Travel Info sud-de-france.com/en Perrier at Les Bouillens, Vergze +33 4.66.87.61.01

Picks that PoP

Antech Blanquette de Limoux, Rserve BrutFrom a family estate for more than six generations, this sparkling wine showcases floral aromas with a golden hue and finishes with delicate bubbles. Gilles Louvet Esprit du SudPart of an organic portfolio offered since 1993, this Blanquette de Limoux showcases notes of honey and menthol. Gerard Bertrand Crmant de Limoux Once captain of the Stade Franais rugby team, Bertrand now owns seven estates and was awarded European Winery of the Year ( 2011) by Wine Enthusiast. His take on Crmant offers a toasty hazelnut effervescence and a mineral finish.

om Prignon is often credited for mthode champenoise, the now legendary second fermentation that occurs in the bottle. But almost 150 years before Prignons arrival at the abbey in Hautvillers in 1531, the monks of SaintHilaire in the south of France wrote of Blanquette de Limouxwhat was then a flasked sparkling wine. Its possible that Prignon visited the abbey in Limoux on a pilgrimage, picked up this established technique, and applied and perfected it in the Champagne region. Well never know for sure, but LanguedocRoussillon continues to embrace the tradition of sparkling wine. The three categories of sparkling wine from Languedoc carry their own cachet

Go. see. Do.

Originally built as a convent to accommodate the Church of Saint Martial nuns, the Couvent dHrpian has been restored as a charming inn and features a subterranean wine vault and honesty bar, where you can taste local vintages at your own pace. Create your own wine experience with Master of Wine Matthew Stubbs at Vincole, the center for wine education in Languedoc-Roussillon. Choose a two-hour workshop or a guided wine

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