Pays d'Oc is the PGI for red, white and rosé wines that are produced over a wide area of the southern coast of France. The PGI catchment area corresponds roughly to the Languedoc-roussillon">Languedoc-Roussillon wine region, one of the largest wine regions in France. The area covers all wines that are not produced under the strict laws that govern AOC-level appellations in the regions: among them, Corbières, Minervois and the Languedoc appellation itself. The Pays d'Oc PGI is arguably the most important in France, producing the majority of the country's PGI wines.
Five separate departments fall under the PGI (Hérault, Aude, Gard, Pyrénées-Orientales and six communes in southern Lozère), which is delimited by administrative rather than geographical boundaries. The name therefore covers a wide variety of terrain, from the mountain ranges of the southern Massif Central to the coastal plains of the Camargue crossed by rivers. Vineyards jostle for position in the Garrigue landscape. The Pays d'Oc has a MediterraneanClimate with hot, Dry summers and mild winters.
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
pink wines from the region of Pays d'Oc go well with generally quite well with dishes of pasta, vegetarian or appetizers and snacks such as recipes of pasta with scamorza and pancetta cheese, leek, goat cheese and bacon quiche or tuna and tomato mini quiches without batter.
