Vineyards
223,700 hectares in 2017: the entire size of the Languedoc and Roussillon basin.
Protected Designation of Origin (AOC) Vineyards
Languedoc: 70,000 hectares
Roussillon: 15,100 hectares
Languedoc includes three departments (Aude, Hérault, and Gard) while Roussillon only has one (Pyrénées-Orientales). In Languedoc 20% of vineyards are AOC, 70% of wines produced are Indication géographique protégée (IGP; Protected Geographical Indication), while smaller areas in Roussillon produce Protected Appellation wines (Vins d’appellation protégée) (61% of wine production in 2017).
Total annual production (2017 harvest)
Languedoc AOC: 1,343,000 hectolitres
IGP de Territoire: 1,349,000 hectolitres
IGP Oc: 5,710,000 hectolitres
Roussillon AOC: 414,600 hectolitres
Côtes Catalanes IGP: 174,200 hectolitres
Together, Languedoc and Roussillon represent 5% of global wine production, all countries and styles included. The Languedoc and Roussillon regions alone produce the same quantity of wine as Australia, Chile, or South Africa!
Organic leaders
25,000 hectares of Languedoc and Roussillon are organic (more than 55% of growing surfaces are certified organics).
36% of organic French wineries
7% of global organic wineries
An impressive increase: organics grew from 6,000 hectares in 2007 to a whopping 25,000 hectares in 2017!
Most-planted red cepages
Most-planted white cepages
- Chardonnay
- Sauvignon
- Muscat-à-petits-grains
- Grenache blanc
- Macabeo
- Viognier
- Muscat-d’alexandrie
- Vermentino
Red cepages represent over 80% of all growing surfaces in Languedoc and Roussillon. An increasing amount of growing surfaces have recently been dedicated to rosé, whose popularity has been increasing over the past few years, and which represents roughly 20% of total wine production. Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Cabernet and Merlot are generally grown in Indication géographique protégée (IGP) areas, whereas AOC areas focus more on the region’s traditional cepages of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Muscats.