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| Food and drink specialities |
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 South West France and wines
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Intriguing shelves…
( :A.G.-CG47) |
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Greeks who settled in Marseille around 600 BC taught the Gauls to make wine. Under the Romans, Bordeaux, the Rhone valley and the Iberian peninsula also became well-established wine-producing regions. In 92 AD the Emperor Domitian, threatened by competition, ordered half the Gallic vines pulled up. When restrictions were lifted in 280, regions such as South-west France started to produce wine.
During the Middle Ages, each monastery produced its own wine for the sacrament and for subsistence. Wine was served at banquets, mixed with spices and honey to temper its youthful harshness, but also blended with herbs, spices (including chili peppers) and animal secretions to create medicines.
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A vineyard fit for a Tsar
(:J.M.-CDT47) |
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 Good local wines, bordering on Bordeaux
« The best wines of the Lot-et-Garonne are to be found in the northwest corner ». A stone’s throw from the official Bordeaux vineyards, the Côtes de Duras reds are usually made from 100% Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon and the whites from Sauvignon, Mauzac or Semillon.
The wines of Buzet are very popular, while others such as Brulhois, Marmandais, vin du Tsar, vin du Mézinais (a dry white wine produced from the colombard grape is an ideal apéritif.) and Agenais table wines are all well worth trying.
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