Languedoc-Roussillon


Look at a slide show from around the region.

The countryside is almost totally given over to vineyards. Caunes-Minervois is at the north end of the coastal plain, 50 minutes by car from the Mediterranean. The local vista varies from that of the 14th to the 20th centuries - always interesting. Only 5 minutes to the north are the spectacular mountains and gorges of Haut Languedoc, the southern edge of the great Massif Central.

Wherever you go in Languedoc you are never far from the vineyards. Leaving Toulouse on the autoroute moving southeast towards Carcassonne, you are buoyed on a sea of vines. Wines and olives are the main crops in this part of France. Forty per cent of France's wines come from here. Year round temperatures here are the highest in France and rainfall is scant. Excellent reds can be found in Corbieres and l'Herault. White wines are made all over the region. Almost every village has its own market where you can buy local fruit, vegetables, cheeses, cured sausages, and wine.

There are many books on the Languedoc-Roussillon region. There are some at the house for the guests. The main historical fact that greatly influenced this region is the development of an heretical (to the Catholic Church at the time) system of belief called Catharism. In the Middle Ages, a great crusade was waged against the adherents to this faith. The crusade lasted many years and affected many cities and towns in the region. Thousands were burned at the stake for their beliefs. Simon de Montfort, the leader of the crusade is infamous for telling his soldiers to put all the townspeople to the pyre and let God sort out the sinners from the faithful.