Full-Day Minerve & the Minervois Wine Tour

The beautiful Minervois region is a short drive from Carcassonne and an area of outstanding beauty. Some of the most picturesque vineyards in the Languedoc wine region are found here as well as some of the finest wines. This is where Languedoc’s first cru was created around the hilltop village of La Livinière, after which the the cru takes its name and where vines were first cultivated by the Romans.

We start the day with a visit to a top-class winery in the cru appellation where you will learn what it is that 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 special part of the day and is a delicious 3 courses accompanied by wines of the region. Sometimes it’s an alfresco lunch and at other times we eat at a village restaurant enjoying local cuisine using seasonal and local produce. After this delicious meal we visit the beautiful village of Minerve which is a tiny historical village perched on a limestone rock surrounded by deep gorges. You will have some free time to explore and your guide will tell you about the Cathar siege that took place here 800 years ago.

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 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 a wide range of grapes including Grenache blanc, Marsanne and Viognier.