Experience the best Languedoc has to offer
Our 4 night food & wine weekend is an exploration of all the wonderful things that combine to make the Spirit of Languedoc. You have a choice of B&B accommodation in either the wonderful city of Carcassonne or in the Medieval village of Caunes-Minervois. Both locations have a great choice of restaurants and things to do during your evenings and both are ideally located for this fabulous 3 day wine tour.
2020 Dates & Prices
The Spirit of Languedoc tour begins when you arrive on Thursday evening and we welcome you with a special food & wine pairing dinner. This long weekend is available in May and September 2020.
May 21 to 24
September 10 to 13
€850 per person based on 2 people sharing a room
What’s Included
- 4 nights B&B accommodation – Thursday to Sunday night inclusive
- Food & Wine Pairing dinner
- 3 fabulous days touring the region
- Lunch each day
- All visits and tastings
- Airport transfers from Carcassonne airport
The flights are not included.
We have a fabulous itinerary lined up for you!
You arrive at your B&B on the Thursday evening and over the following three days you will visit 3 different parts of the region and taste some wonderful food & wine.
Thursday – Join us for Food & wine Pairing Dinner
After enjoying a tasty apéro, over the course of the evening you will enjoy exceptional wines carefully chosen to match each of the 4 delicious courses and each pairing will be described for you by our very knowledgeable and entertaining sommelier.
Friday – Minervois Cru & Minerve
We start our tour of the region with a trip to the Minervois and we start with a visit to a top class winery in the cru appellation where you will learn what makes this wine so special. You will enjoy a private visit to the winery and follow this with a superb tasting of these delicious wines. Following this visit and tasting we will take a stroll through one of the oldest vineyards in the area and see how the vines grow and are cared for.
Next stop is lunch which is always a very special part of our wine tours and is a delicious 3 courses accompanied by wines of the region. Sometimes its an alfreso lunch and at other times we eat at an old winery in an ancient village and right next door is the famous village of Minerve.
After lunch we visit the beautiful village of Minerve where you will have a little time to explore and learn about the Cathar siege that took place here 800 years ago. Read about the village in our blog.
Now it’s time to visit the 2nd winery of the day which will provide us with a great contrast to the morning visit. Here they also make delicious Haut Minervois wines but grown on slightly different terroir to our morning visit and this will provide us with the opportunity to see how much the growing conditions can affect the style of the wine.
We will taste the range of red, rosé and white wines and discover the Languedoc grape varieties including Syrah (Shiraz), Grenache and Carignan plus the delicious white wine made from the Viognier grapes. To night you are free to relax and explore.
Saturday – Canal du Midi Wine Tour We start this fabulous tour with a visit to one of the best independent olive producers in Languedoc where excellent oils are produced using local olive varieties. We will learn how the olives are grown and harvested and made into oil. This is followed by a tasting of oils and olives including the Rolls Royce of all Olives the Lucques variety.
From here we take the short drive to the village of Le Somail one the prettiest ports along the Canal du Midi where we join our boat for a 1 hour private cruise and along the way we will entertain you with a delicious tasting of Languedoc wines and tell you the story of the Canal. Lunch made from fresh and local ingredients will be enjoyed at a wine chateau accompanied by their wines.
Now its time to take the pretty drive through the Occitanie countryside to visit one of the finest wine producers of Corbieres wines in the Languedoc where we will enjoy a private tour of the winery and learn how the wines are grown and made. This is followed by a delicious tasting of their expressive wines.
Sunday – Cathar Castles & Roussillon Wines
Today we visit two of the ‘Cathar Castles’, Châteaux Quéribus and Peyreperteuse that are located on the southern border of the Corbières. Its quite a long drive to reach this area from Carcassonne so we take the Autoroute towards Perpignan and en-route we get to see the lagoons that divide the land from the Mediterranean.
When we leave the fast road we drive through some breath-taking scenery to reach the village of Maury nestling in the Agly Valley. Here we visit one of the finest producers of Côtes de Roussillon wines as well as delicious Maury, the chefs’ choice for pairing with chocolate. We will have a private tour of the cellar where we will explain how the wines are made and then take a look at the impressive barrel room and finish off with a fabulous tasting of the Côtes de Roussillon red and white wines plus the delicious Maury. Possibly some of the most interesting wines in this part of the South of France.
Now it’s time to head for the Château Quéribus which can be viewed from below or you can take the slightly strenuous walk up to view it and if it’s a clear day it’s one of the best vantage points in the area. After this visit we take the short drive to little village of Cucugnan made famous by Alphonse Daudet in his book Letters from my Windmill published in 1869 where he wrote the lovely tale of the Curé de Cucugnan and here we will enjoy lunch at an Auberge that serves local traditional dishes.
Your guide will regale you with some of the history of the Cathar’s as we head for the Château Peyreperteuse perched high with views across the spectacular scenery. You can take the steep walk up to the castle which is a bit of a hike but you are well rewarded for your efforts.
Its a long day but well worth it in order to see these impressive castles and taste these superb wines and a great way to end this fabulous 3 day wine holiday.