So a lot of people have asked what I’ve been doing in California for three months. It’s been tough to be away from the vines for so long (even if the weather here is really beautiful, I miss my vent Cers).
Well I can finally announce that Naked Wines is coming to the USA, and we’re beta tasting. You might have heard of beta testing, when software companies do a partial early release to gauge public reactions before the real launch. Well if Silicon Valley has beta testers, Napa Valley deserves beta tasters! We’ve spent months and months and months recruiting winemakers and crowd-funding new wines. I can’t say everything yet because we’re just in the beta tasting phase. But soon we’ll reveal everything (again totally naked!)
Anyway, if you’re an American reader and fortunate enough to live in one of our participating states, you can apply to be a Beta Taster at nakedwines.com. On your application, you’ll probably want to mention that you know me and look forward to having my wines available in the US.
Just a few miles outside of Carcassonne, you can see a collection of different grape varieties like Syrah, Grenache, Macabeu, Mauzac, Picquepoul, Terret, Vermentino, and more! Just before budbreak 2012, dad planted the ampelographic garden at O’Vineyards.
A big thanks to the Chambre d’Agriculture who helped us find the best grape varieties, choosing the right clones to demonstrate varietal typicity on our terroir at O’Vineyards.
What is an Ampelographic Garden?
Ampelography is a big word used to describe the visual study and identification of grape vines. And that’s basically what you can do here. Wander down a row of vines and see if you can tell the difference between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Or can you tell Clairette from Picquepoul? Which plants have leaves split into three parts and which have leaves with five parts? Which varieties have the most ample fruit clusters? The most leaf growth? And so on.
Why is this fun and not just for wine nerds?
It’s just a few dozen plants, and it seems pretty nerdy, but we think it’ll be very fun.
A lot of the folks who visit O’Vineyards ask what the difference is between Merlot and Shiraz. So it’s great to have a simple visual demonstration of how each of these varieties are unique and specially adapted to different conditions. It’s much more exciting to show people some examples of differences than just saying “Well they’re all genetically different which results in having varying amount, shape, size and placement of leaves and fruit.”
Varietial wine are very popular in many countries. Often times, people will just ask me “what type of wine is this?” meaning what varieties is it made up of? Wine drinkers in the US and UK are always keen to learn the difference between grape varieties.
Planting the Grape Vines:
Some photos of Joe O’Connell planting his young vines and Jean Heritier, director at the Chambre d’Agriculture de l’Aude, helping out.
Here’s a full list of the grape varieties (and their clones and rootstocks) in our ampelographic garden… before anybody yells at me, I know some of these aren’t mediterranean. But they should be fun to look at and they might exemplify the special climate we have in the Cabardes north of Carcassonne that allows us to grow some grape varieties like Merlot, Cot, and Cabernet
Reds:
Cabernet Franc – 332 CALMET / 110 R
Cabernet Sauvignon – 15 / 161 49 C
Syrah – 524 / 161 49 C
Terret – CONS / 1103 P
Carignan – 274 / 333 EM
Cinsault – BED PLAI / 110 R
Cot (Malbec) – 594/ 140 RU
Grenache Noir – 433 / FERCAL
Marselan – 980 / SO4
Merlot – 184 CAL / FERCAL
Mourvedre – 360 / 110 R
Pinot Noir – 375 / 140 RU
Whites:
Chardonnay – 96/ SO4
Chenin – 220/ SO4
Grenache Blanc – 143 / 110 R
Macabeu – CONS MAC PR / 110 R
Marsanne – 574 / FERCAL
Mauzac – 740 / 140 RU
Roussanne – 468 / 333 EM
Sauvignon – 108 / SO4
Vermentino – 795 / 140 RU
Clairette (gris) – CONS / 1103 P
Picquepoul (gris) – CONS / 1103 P
At Vinisud, I had the pleasure of introducing an alternative wine tasting for the Outsiders.
The Alternative Tasting
Basically, we just did a fun wine tasting where we encouraged people to describe our wines with images that Louise Hurren had picked out for our tasting booklet. Forcing people to think about a wine with images instead of words gets them to think outside the box instead of falling back on the oft repeated tasting note vocab like rich, balanced, and a laundry list of fruit.
Furthermore, it empowers novice drinkers to review wines without worrying that they’re using the wrong word. The experts can make us feel inadequate about language sometimes, but they pretty much have no dominion in the land of photo reviews.
Why was this tasting on the Pavillion 2.0 space?
This tasting was held at the Internet space of Vinisud and there’s a good reason for that! The reason for the prominence of the tasting note is largely grounded in the limitations of print media. Limited space means we talk in pure descriptors without any conjugation. But the Internet doesn’t pose the same challenge. We can have infinite words and infinite photos in full color. And heck we can even use moving pictures, music, and other media that were previously impossible to include in printed wine journalism. The Internet provides us with a path to escape the tyranny of the tasting note!
So I did a little presentation on this topic to get everybody thinking outside the box before we got to drinking outside the box:
All the slides are available on slideshare with relevant links to related articles in the penultimate slide.
I’d say everybody had a blast. Including a lot of wine journalists (showing once again that even they can be fed up with tasting note format). I originally wanted to do a tasting with music and video and all sorts of crazy stuff. Thankfully, our group’s organizer Louise had the good sense to rein it in and focus on photos.
We had less than an hour to run the event so it was good to keep it simple and focused. We got insanely good feedback about the event and it has already spawned several requests for similarly styled “alternative tastings”. We also got several good ideas from our tasters who offered up ways to evolve the program and make it even more interesting. Doing physical touchy feely tastings, doing musical tastings, tasting in darkness, drawings instead of photos, and so on.
In terms of tasting notes, I think we all received a wide range of notes. I got everything from Lego man to Dutch masters. I got several of the He/She picture that makes me wonder if I shouldn’t change my look. Some of the outsiders noted that certain age groups tended to pick certain pictures (the more daring ones) more frequently than other demographics. I’m sure we’ll compile more on this at our next meeting.
Everybody had fun tasting and I think this sort of event gets people to think and talk about wine in a new and stimulating way without feeling overly stuffy or pretentious. A success!
So, I’ve been pretty cagey about this but here’s the official announcement:
Ryan O’Connell is moving to California for part of 2012. The company I’m working with in California is looking for new wines and new business opportunities and they think I can help. I think I can help too. 🙂
I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll be travelling back and forth from the US to Languedoc all year, so I’m not totally detached from the vineyard and the region I call home. And my very competent parents will continue their stewardsship of O’Vineyards in my absence.
I’ve started a new blog called kidnapa (because I’m being kidnapped to Napa) which will probably have a lot of articles comparing France and California or just talking about the west coast of the US.
Love That Languedoc will continue (largely as an aggregator site). I am also accepting guest posts so let me know if you’d like to contribute to that blog.
This blog will continue to have posts about O’Vineyards and all the random wine junk I think about that doesn’t fit on my other blogs.
There has been a big response to the Vinisud guide so far but I can imagine that people would like a list that isn’t curated by me. After all, I tend to pick my buddies and so you’ll see the same names crop up over time.
Well this list is actually just an email I got from a PR person who specializes in wine. One day, they’re going to figure out that they can publish this stuff on their own blogs, and I’ll be out of an audience. But since there’s been good feedback for all the vinisud guides, here’s a list curated by somebody other than me (although I couldn’t resist adding my own annotation in blue text):
VINISUD list from VINCONNEXION
Mes clients et moi serions heureux de vous recevoir sur leur stand à votre convenance :
Hall 7
Domaine de L’Hortus – stand 7 A 28 – Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup great property in Pic Saint Loup. One of the big references
Domaine de Haut-Gléon – stand 7 A 69 – Corbières
Sortie du 1er millésime bio et présentation d’une nouvelle gamme aux noms évocateurs, notamment L’Elementerre en rouge et l’Essenciel en rosé.
Hall 10
Terres de Mer – stand 10 A 33 – Les Maîtres Vignerons de la presqu’île de Saint Tropez et Le Moulin de la Roque à Bandol “Les Maitres Vignerons de la presqu’ile de Saint Tropez” is an awesome name for an indie band
Chez Les Maîtres Vignerons de la presqu’île de Saint-Tropez : Grain de Glace 2011 & rosé de l’hiver.
Domaine Saint André de Figuière – VIGNOBLES & SIGNATURES – stand 10 B 20 – Côtes de Provence
Hall 11
Château Les Amoureuses – ASSOCIATION 2 000 VINS D’ARDÈCHE – stand 11 A 24
Vignerons Ardéchois – UVICA – ASSOCIATION 2 000 VINS D’ARDÈCHE – stand 11 A 76
Ortas Cave de Rasteau – stand 11 B 16
Nouvelle gamme Ortas de Crus du Sud pour le circuit traditionnel : Châteauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Tavel, Vacqueyras, et un IGP “Petit As”. I’ve never heard of IGP “Petit As”, but it instantly became my favorite denomination name after “La Clape” (for mostly the same reasons).
Domaine Alain Jaume & Fils – VIGNOBLES & SIGNATURES – stand 11 B 17
Châteauneuf du Pape, Lirac, Vacqueyras (nouveau membre du Club en 2012)
Domaine Brusset – stand 11 C 16
Cairanne, Gigondas…
Cave de Tain l’Hermitage – stand 11 C 76
Un engagement fort pour un développement durable (rapport disponible auprès de Murielle Chardin-Frouin)
Développement de l’oenotourisme, avec notamment le parcours “Sur les pas de Gambert” this walking trail has signposts with qr codes and stuff. cool idea.
Les Vignerons de Rasteau et de Tain l’Hermitage VRT – stand 11 C 76
Lancement en GMS d’une gamme Ortas dans les 3 couleurs : un Côtes du Rhône Villages, un Rasteau sec, un VDN. Des vins issus du sourcing de la Cave de Rasteau.
Mas Amiel – stand 11 D 16 Legendary vin doux producers in Maury.
Domaine Pierre Gaillard – VIGNOBLES & SIGNATURES – stand 11 D 87
Côte Rôtie, Faugères, Banuyls (nouveau membre du Club en 2012) My mom is doing an off event with them on Tuesday
Hall 12
InterVins sud-est – stand 12 A 68
Dégustation en avant-première du TOP 50. Ces 50 vins sélectionnés parmi 14 IGP (jury du 30 janvier à Orange) sont la vitrine des vins IGP du sud-est ; ils sont issus d’une véritable mosaïque de terroirs viticoles. Des vins dans les 3 couleurs, vins de cépages et d’assemblage.
Château de la Selve – Association 2 000 vins d’Ardèche – stand 12 A 36
Château de Gaudou – stand 12 E 29 -Cahors
DEUX RENDEZ-VOUS PARTICULIERS :
“Un dimanche à la campagne” : dimanche 19 février de 13 à 19 h avec le Club Vignobles & Signatures
Le Domaine de l’Hortus (Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup, à Valflaunès), membre du Club Vignobles & Signatures, organise “un dimanche à la campagne”. La famille Orliac, propriétaire de ce domaine, fera visiter le vignoble ; les 17 propriétés formant le Club Vignobles & Signatures feront déguster leurs meilleurs millésimes et les nouveaux vins 2011 (invitation et plan d’accès joints).
Dégustation permanente à Vinisud du TOP 50 des IGP du sud-est : hall 12 stand A 68 InterVins sud-est
Dégustation en avant-première du TOP 50. Ces 50 vins sélectionnés parmi 14 IGP (jury du 30 janvier à Orange) sont la vitrine des vins IGP du sud-est ; ils sont issus d’une véritable mosaïque de terroirs viticoles. Des vins dans les 3 couleurs, vins de cépages et d’assemblage.
Like all the great music and art festivals, Vinisud draws a lot of talent to the area where it’s held (Montpellier). So every day, after the fair ends, the party is just beginning for other people.
The French refer to afterhours parties and tastings as “OFF’ events. This is a run down of all the OFF events I’ve heard about so far. Feel free to add your own in the comments section or email me if I’m missing some.
If you find this list helpful, consider tweeting about it or sending a link to your friends by email.
Events that require a reservation or paid entry are marked as such. Note that virtually all of these events are meant for wine buffs. Especially the ones that are invitation only. You should probably only attend if you’re in the trade or press, or if you can demonstrate a pretty professional enthusiasm for wine. The dinner events are probably more open to amateur visitors. Don’t get mad at me! You know I don’t make the rules. 🙂
Sunday OFF Events
Le Vin de Mes Amis – 14h-19h – Domaine de Verchant 34170 Castelnau le Lez
RSVP to charlotte.senat@gmail.com
Cost 10€ Vin de Mes Amis blog
PDF of invitation vdm 2012 pdf A huge list of very good wines. A lot of the usual suspects from Changer l’Aude en Vin, but tons more to boot. See page 2 of the Vin de Mes Amis PDF for details. I heard that this might be at Trinque Fougasse O’Nord but the invitation says Domaine de Verchant. Look into it if you’re interested!
Haut les Vins! – 10h-20h – Chateau de Flaugergues (in Montpellier) official website list of participants A large group of winemakers from all around France, and a couple from Portugal, Spain and even Serbia. This gang will be doing their tasting at a Domaine that is actually located within Montpellier’s city limits. My buddy Benoit will be pouring his zero dosage Champagne and lots of other good winemakers are in attendance. It’s open all Sunday so if you get to Montpellier early, this is a great way to ease into ViniSud. But don’t party too hard as you have three days of salon ahead of you!
ViniFilles – 18h30 – Jam 100 rue Ferdinand de Lesseps 34000Montpellier
invitation required
contact presse@vinifilles.fr
This group of Languedoc Roussillon winemaking women are having a rock show and tasting at the Jam. There’s a buffet and ample wine. The bands playing are Les Gazelles de Bruxelles and La Mal Coiffée. But there is a guestlist so you have to contact them if you want to get in.
Chateauneuf du Pape, Tavel & Rasteau – 19h – Chateau de la Banquiere Vauguieres le Haut 34130 Maugio
dinner & music
invitation only
contact: soiree.crus@hotmail.fr
The AOCs Chateauneuf du Pape, Tavel & Rasteau are organizing a nice dinner with music and winemakers from the three appellations presenting their wines around a buffet dinner.
Monday OFF Events
G-Night, Occupy Grenache – 19h-2h – location not yet announced (underground ;D)
PDF of invitation G-Night Invite Vinisud 2012 Facebook event page A night devoted to Grenache. Run by the same people who organized the Grenache Symposium at La Verriere. Should be fun. The location is still a surprise so I expect they’ve got something fun in store to reveal it closer to the date.
Le Vin de Mes Amis – 10h-19h – Domaine de Verchant 34170 Castelnau le Lez
RSVP to charlotte.senat@gmail.com
Cost 10€ Vin de Mes Amis blog
PDF of invitation vdm 2012 pdf Les amis this time around are Jean Yves Bordier with butter and cheeses from Saint-Malo, Irene et Julienne Daniaux with glass art, and Antony Cointre a roving chef. And a huge list of very good wines. A lot of the usual suspects from Changer l’Aude en Vin, but tons more to boot. See page 2 of the Vin de Mes Amis PDF for details.
Haut les Vins! – 10h-18h – Chateau de Flaugergues, Montpellier official website list of participants If you’re not in town on Sunday, they’re doing it all over on Monday.
Contains Sulfites…Mais Pas Trop! – 18h – Le Ban des Gourmands, Place Carnot, Montpellier Official blog
RSVP required on the official blog
This hilariously named group of reasoned winemakers are doing an event on Monday night at a restaurant. It might be a sit down dinner… the invitation just bills it as an Intergalactic journey. 😀 Reservations should be made before the 10th so hurry up!
Mas de l’Ecriture – 18h-20h30 – Chez Boris (brasserie)
invitation only, for wine trade and press
contact: louisehurren@wanadoo.fr
A 12 year vertical of Mas de l’Ecriture. Pretty stunning opportunity, but very limited space in the venue.
Tuesday OFF Events
Mardi Gras des Gaillardises – 11h-20h – Aeroport Hotel Maugio/Montpellier blog post about the event facebook page 25 winemakers will present their wines at the Aeroport Hotel which is easy to get to by using the regular airport shuttles from the Parc des Expositions. There are some really top notch producers from all over France. And of particular interest to my blog readers, there are a couple of Internet superstars including my mom from O’Vineyards, Iris Rutz-Rudel from Domaine Lisson, Isabelle Perraud from Cotes de la Moliere, Amy Lillard from La Gramiere, and Lilian Bauchet from Les Bachelards. So if you’ve been reading our blogs and wondering if the wine is as good as the words, here is your chance. Full list of vignerons available in the link above; you’ll see there are some heavy hitters.
Mas de l’Ecriture – 18h-20h30 – Chez Boris (bistrot)
invitation only, for wine trade and press
contact: louisehurren@wanadoo.fr
A 12 year vertical of Mas de l’Ecriture. Note the venue changes from the similarly named Chez Boris Brasserie to Chez Boris Bistrot. But still limited space.
So OFF that they’re ON
There are a few events that are structured like OFFs or have the spirit of an OFF, but they’re actually going to take place within the walls of ViniSud.
The 2012 edition of Vinisud includes a space devoted to the web called Pavilion 2.0
I’ll be spending a lot of time there. Additionally, I’ll be doing a presentation with some of my buddies from the Outsiders
on Monday afternoon at 16h
and
on Tuesday morning at 10h.
Each presentation will consist of a 10 minute talk about new opportunities in wine communication afforded by the Internet, followed by a tasting workshop where we’ll encourage people to talk about our wine with images instead of words.
It should be a lot of fun. It’s a focused, high-energy event. Each producer is bringing just one wine to be tasted so it’s a small sampler platter of the Outsiders that will hopefully inspire you to visit the stand of your favorite producers. And we might revolutionize the way you think about wine writing while we’re at it. 🙂
Every two years, I meet lots and lots of people at ViniSud who are there for their first time. If you’re not a part of the trade specialized in Mediterranean wines, it can be an overwhelming experience. Even professionals who are native to this region organize their salon far ahead of time and have meetings booked all day. So for Languedoc newbies, it’s easy to get lost.
This year, I’ve written a couple posts that might help out the odd journalist or tradesperson who doesn’t have their whole trip planned out.
Vinisud is a massive wine trade fair in Montpellier. It’s easy to get lost in the sea of mediterranean winemakers, so I’ve compiled a list of southern French wines that I think are genuinely interesting.
If you ever feel overwhelmed, just take a deep breath, pick somebody from this list and visit them. I’m sure they’ll treat you well. I picked people who are pretty spread out across all the halls so wherever you have your wine-induced panic attack, you’ll be near one of these producers.
If you find this list helpful, consider tweeting about it or sending a link to your friends by email.
Chateau de Nages – Michel & Tina Gassier – Hall 11
Chateau de Gaure – Pierre Fabre – Hall 7
Clos du Gravillas – John & Nicole Bojanowski – Hall 9
Chene Bleu Rosé – Nicole Sierra Rolet – Hall 11
l’Oustal Blanc Naick blanc – Claude & Isabel Fonquerle – Hall 6 (tuesday afternoon only)
Domaine des Homs – Jean Marc & Anne de Crozals – Hall 10
O’Vineyards – That’s me. – Hall 1
Chateau de Nages Vielles Vignes 2011
Tina & Michel Gassier – Costieres de Nimes
Hall 11 Aisle A Stand 99
This wine is one of the strongest arguments I’ve ever tasted for exploration of organic and biodynamic practices at my own vineyard. That’s a pretty hefty statement, so let me explain myself. I am not convinced that organic wine is inherently better from a moral or ecological perspective. I am therefore only interested in it to the extent that it can make my wine taste better. Gassier makes my style of wine, big, dense, rich, etc. while preserving a certain level of freshness and acidity that keeps the wine from becoming overbearing. He also has a relatively huge property. Something like 6 times as big as O’Vineyards. So if he can do it, I can. And he swears that his wines have benefited from it. So I’m intrigued. More at the Gassier blog or Nages website.
Chateau de Gaure Campagne Chardonnay 2010
Pierre Fabre – Limoux
Hall 7 Aisle A Stand 74
Pierre Fabre started making wines a bit south of my vineyard at almost the exact same time. On top of making fantastic wines, he’s a great artist and every vintage gets a different painting of his. He’s recently released a new white wine where the label is painted by his five year old son! It’s a great wine with some real value and the painting hilariously looks like his style at first glance. He’s got a huge smile and loves to share his wines with strangers. more at gaure website or blog
Clos du Gravillas Lo Vièlh Carignan
Nicole & John Bojanowski – St Jean de Minervois
Hall 9 Aisle B Stand 46
St Jean de Minervois is famous for its muscat, but I’m sending you to the crazies up on the hill that make a pure Carignan. They famously defended the grape to Jancis Robinson and other journalists who sometimes looked down on the variety. You can taste a 100% Carignan done right and decide if it’s worth all the fuss. Chêne Bleu / Domaine de La Verrière Rosé
Nicole Sierra-Rolet – Southern Rhône
Hall 11 Stand C64
This year, you can taste a rosé made for red wine drinkers. It’s direct press and serious business. If you go to their stand and say “Go ahead, make my day,” they’ll pour you their Clint Eastwood styled rosé. 🙂
To their merit, Chêne Bleu was one of the few wineries that sent me an email so good I just wanted to publish their words:
Chêne Bleu takes the Clint Eastwood approach to winemaking – it’s not an adventure if someone’s done the same thing already – so when we set out to make a rosé, we wanted it to be different from the norm and to stand proudly alongside our critically acclaimed reds and whites. This rosé is not for knocking back by the pool. It’s one of the few direct press rosés made; and we call it our ‘anti-rosé rosé’ because we believe that even those who aren’t usually rosé fans will love its ‘chewy’ texture, long finish and ability to stand up to lovely rich Mediterranean food and spicy Eastern dishes. Through the years it’s won accolades all over the world including designation as a ‘Vin Mythique’ in La Revue du Vin de France. Come by the stand and, if you use the password ‘Go ahead, make my day’, you can see if you agree with us, and the critics, in a taste test alongside some spicy food.
L’Oustal Blanc Naick Blanc
Isabel & Claude Fonquerle – la Liviniere
Hall 6 Aisle A Stand 13 (Tuesday afternoon only)
A brother from another mother, the high end reds at l’Oustal Blanc remind me of a more mediterranean version of my own wines. But what’s really intriguing is their 100% Grenache Gris. A white wine for red wine drinkers. This is one of the whites that pushed dad and me over the edge and made us decide to harvest our white grapes and make a white wine in 2012. Claude will only be at ViniSud Tuesday afternoon. You can also catch this wine at an OFF event we’re doing together on Tuesday at the Aeroport Hotel.
Domaine des Homs Paul 2011
Anne & Jean Marc de Crozals – Minervois
Hall 10 Aisle A Stand 8
I met these winemakers because we both make Cabardes wines, but I think their true specialty is their organic Minervois estate. In a blind tasting I once confused this wine with a 60 € bottle from a more notorious estate, and the Cuvée Paul is thankfully much more affordable. 🙂 It’s a minervois that manages to capture ripe fruit without getting overbearing. And they were some of our first neighbors to have us over for a drink when we got to the region. So cheers.
O’Vineyards Stranger, Stranger 2007
Joe, Ryan and Liz O’Connell – Cabardes
Hall 1 Aisle B Stand 21
I’d be remiss if I didn’t invite you to come visit my family’s stand. My parents, Joe and Liz O’Connell, don’t usually get a chance to talk because I am always blabbing for them online. But at Vinisud, you can meet the silent majority of O’Vineyards! And they’re coming with a special treat. Ask about the “Stranger, Stranger” and they’ll give you a taste of a 100% Merlot they only made in 2007, in commemoration of all the strangers who helped us when we first moved to the Languedoc. This wine always cheers us up, and it was the first bottle my dad reached for when the New Orleans Saints got knocked out of the NFL playoffs this month.
update: a reader has sent in a version with even higher contrast saying it works best:
So hopefully we’re getting somewhere!
A lot of people had trouble scanning the QR code I made out of wine corks so I made some modifications to help it become more scannable.
Hopefully this version works a bit better. Thanks to Robert McIntosh for the excellent idea of desaturating the photo and increasing the contrast. And then making it smaller tends to help too. But not toooo small.
Anyway, here’s the finished black and white QR code made out of wine corks. Although, I must confess I like it much more in color!
Please let me know if it’s working or not.
It scans perfectly on my phone with Quick QR Reader, but then so did the original in color. And people say it works on Android and it works on iPhone!
But then some very competent people are telling me it won’t scan on their iPhones/Androids/etc. so I am sure it could be improved. Probably variations due to QR Code Reading App, monitor settings, how much you’ve had to drink, etc.
Naturally, it’s more likely to work if you’ve had a glass of wine. Which is why it works every time for me. 🙂
Enjoy!
How to find us
Domaine O’Vineyards, located in the North Arrondissement of Carcassonne, is just minutes from the Carcassonne train station, the Medieval City, and the Carcassonne Airport.
GPS coordinates: 43.259622, 2.340387
O’Vineyards
Wine, Dine, Relax at our Boutique Vineyard
Unique thing to do in Carcassonne
Wine Cellar. Winery Visits. Wine Tasting.
Wine & Food Pairing
North Arrondissement of Carcassonne
885 Avenue de la Montagne Noire
11620 Villemoustaussou, France
Tel: +33(0) 630 189 910
Best by GPS.
Follow the signs to Mazamet/ Villemoustaussou using the D118. At the end of the last straight part of D118, you will come to a roundabout with the Dyneff gas station.
Take the exit towards Pennautier. Continue 500m to a small roundabout and go straight over.
Look out for the second road on your right, Avenue des Cévennes which curves up hill (about 1km) to Avenue de la Montagne Noire on the left.
At the last juction, bear left. the road sign “Ave de la Montagne Noire” (confusing as it seems to show a right turn)
After another 500m you will see our red brick color building in the middle of the vines.
Well I can finally announce that 
