Wine with Leslie: Light up a meal with Solas wine — and a zingy fruity sour ale to try
Organic and sustainable viticulture thrives in the Languedoc
A focus this week on Pays d’Oc IGP wines from the Languedoc. IGP stands for ‘Protected Geographical Indication’ which is a guarantee of origin and quality not unlike that given to the Waterford Blaa or Connemara Hill Lamb.
Originally labelled ‘Vin de Pays d’Oc’ when created in 1987 but changed to IGP Pays d’Oc in recent years, it is estimated 25 bottles are sold every second. For generations much of the Languedoc-Roussillon produced unremarkable table wine but as the wine lake grew and older growers retired, new blood moved in and growers and co-operatives began to focus on what the market actually wanted rather than tradition. This meant a move to quality and varietal wines fermented in temperature-controlled tanks rather than bland generic Vin de Table.
