Limoux

In 1531, monks at the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Hilaire, near Limoux, produced an unusual white wine in their cellar that naturally became sparkling in its corked glass bottle. Limoux is the birthplace of the world's first sparkling wine. The Limoux AOC produces still and sparkling wines, the best known of which is probably Blanquette de Limoux.

Delimited in 1929, the Limoux wine-growing area was the first to give rise to an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in Languedoc with Blanquette de Limoux and Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale (decrees of February 18, 1938) and one of the first appellations in France. The production of still white wines was in turn recognized by the decree of February 21, 1959, amended on July 29, 1993, in terms of grape varieties (minimum 15% Mauzac, Chardonnay, and Chenin) and vinification, which must be carried out in oak barrels. The decree of August 21, 1990 added a new appellation, Crémant de Limoux. Finally, more recently, the Limoux red appellation was recognized by the decree of June 23, 2004.

The Limoux vineyard covers an area of 7,800 hectares, including 2,000 hectares of Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) across 41 communes grouped into four non-hierarchical terroirs, defined simply in relation to their climate: the Autan terroir, the Mediterranean terroir, the oceanic terroir, and the Haute Vallée terroir.