So this list is much much longer. And it’s actually pretty hard to find people. . . so I’m going to publish it in multiple parts. Here is the first part.
I included wineries, vineyards, negociants, grape growers, etc. Anybody who presents themselves as a producer and could presumably prove it with tax receipts or something.
Please feel free (Obliged even) to email me to add more to this list or leave a comment at the bottom of this page with a link to the facebook page you’d like to add. And while you’re doing me favors, somebody needs to tell Georges Frêche that he can’t abandon his facebook page just because he was re-elected. Obama is still emailing me like DAILY.
Interestingly, I noticed a lot more twitter accounts being held by a group of winemakers, an organization that represents them or a marketing representative that tweets for them. They are listed separately when I am capable of telling them apart.
This list also shows a lot winemakers with virtually no followers. Take the time to check them out and maybe a few will be to your liking. Or you can follow the entire list of Languedoc-Roussillon Winemaking Tweeters.
Cres Ricards – inactive, but I think they just got bought by Paul Mas. Watch this space.
Philippe Cambie – an excellent winemaker who works with several Languedoc producers, I put him on this list despite the fact that his bread and butter is Chateauneuf du Pape
Louise Hurren – Even though Louise doesn’t pretend to be a winemaker, she tweets on their behalf a vast majority of the time
Skalli Wines – Not only south of France but Skalli was a big influence in the Languedoc
??? I have no idea who this is, but they are appear to be representing a winery near Limoux
If you know any other Languedoc Roussillon Domaines on Twitter, feel free to correct this list by emailing me or by commenting below. I know a lot of folks but I don’t know everybody! And sometimes I’m just forgetful.
People often ask me if there are any other winemakers in our region “who get it”. Are there winemakers who are on the web interacting with their consumers and even interacting with people who might not be able to buy their wine.
Well I’ve got good news. The Languedoc-Roussillon might actually be the avant garde of the online wine world.
We’ve got a large number of winemakers with active online presences, blogs, twitters, etc. This can probably be attributed to two different traits of the Languedoc-Roussillon. First of all, there are a ton of winemakers. The last number I saw in the ViniSud press release was 6,000+ wineries. And then tens of thousands of grape growers. Secondly, we have a lot of newly installed winemakers and passion projects (like mine). And I think a lot of these passion projects are founded by “outsider” winemakers who come from another milieu, one where it is almost intuitive that you have to blog or tweet or do anything else you can to market your brand online. (It’s probably no coincidence that a lot of these bloggers will be at the Outsider Tasting in London this November.)
Without further ado, let’s get into the nitty gritty. A list of winemaker blogs, vineyard blogs, producer blogs, etc. in the Languedoc-Roussillon. These are very loosely ranked based on my totally subjective notion of who is the most active, has the most original content, etc.
Name, Location – Type and Language – Description
Clos des Fées, Roussillon – Winemaker blog in French – Hervé Bizeul is a great writer. He’s got a poetic quality, but it never gets hard to read. He’s totally unpretentious in his writing style. And he’s 100% honest. A lot of winemakers hide the mishaps or odd situations that are part of every day life. Bizeul is not compelled to do that. Hail destroyed part of his crop? Expect pictures of burned and damaged grapes. Somebody said something mean? Don’t expect him to hide it.
Domaine Lisson, Olargues – Winemaker blogs in French, English and Deutsch – I think this is one of the oldest winemaker blogs around, with consistent posts dating back to mid-2005. I know that doesn’t seem like a long time, but if you put it in Internet terms, she’s been blogging since before you knew about YouTube. And like any blogger who lasts that long, Lisson understands that it’s fun to talk about other people. She regularly shares her discoveries of other marvels in the Languedoc and surrounding regions.
O’Vineyards, Carcassonne – Winemaker blog in English- Haha, you hopefully know about this one already. It’s my winemaker blog.
Mas de l’Ecriture, Terrasses du Larzac – Winemaker blog in French – Pascal Fulla keeps us up to date on his very active winemaker blog which has a lot of fun promotional bits alongside a lot of multimedia, including some truly gorgeous vineyard photography. I love how much photo, video, and audio he uses (despite the winery’s name? ).
Domaine Jones, Fitou – Winemaker blog in English – Katie Jones is a recently installed vigneronne who blogs extensively and regularly. I haven’t met Katie yet but her videos definitely give me the impression that she is heavily involved in the winemaking process. Lots of regular updates. I like how casual this blog is about the technical stuff that happens on a vineyard. It’s like everything is new to her and she is unshy about sharing that novelty and freshness with her readers.
La Peira, Terrasses du Larzac – Winery blog in English – Rob Dougan is all over the web. He’s another example of a passion project from another milieu and it’s just obvious to him that he should be online. A lot of his posts are clever ways of reminding you of all the good press his wines get. But he also gives a great deal of insight into those reviews and what he sees as a propos in the region.
Chateau de Gourgazaud, Minervois la Livinière – Winemaker blog in French – I only found this one more recently but it seems like a well-run vineyard update blog.
Domaine Revelh, Roussillon – Winemaker blog in French – Recently installed biodynamic microvineyard in the Roussillon. Lots of promise in the blog side of things. They make such a small quantity of wine, I feel like it’s admirable that they spend so much time talking about it online.
Domaine Treloar, Trouillas Roussillon – Winemaker blog in English – Really cool winemaking couple in Trouillas. Very down to earth people with heavenly wines. I wish the blog was an actual blog and not just a frequently updated news page, but I love that they are online and communicating. And I actually follow the facebook account way more. I should probably devote a whole other post to Languedoc Domaines with good Facebook pages.
Carignans.com, St Jean de Minervois – varietal news in English – Okay, this isn’t really a blog (a chronologically displayed web log). But it’s so in the spirit of one that it’s worth mentioning. John Bojanowski of Clos du Gravillas got really fed up with how journalists were hating on his favorite varietal, Carignan. So he started a website and united lots of producers who like Carignan. Now, there’s a safe community where growers can come out of the Carignan closet and admit to the world and to themselves that it is a great grape when grown right. Contact him if you make a pure Carignan that’s up to snuff.
Vigneron Blog – Winemaker blog in French – I actually have no idea who this guy is or where he makes wine. His ambitiously titled Vigneron Blog does assert that he is a winemaker (and I think he’s in the Roussillon). And he seems to be one of the most active winemaker bloggers in the region. But I’m still looking for information about this mysterious blogger. Let me know if you run into him.
Vella Frontera, Maury – Corin and Jayne Fairchild blog about their recent(?) vineyard purchase in the Roussillon.
Clot de l’Oum, Belesta – Vineyard blog in French – Lots of very dramatic photos. A lot of them vine-related.
Domaine de Borde Rouge, Lagrasse – Winery blog in French and sometimes English – I have no idea how this stayed off my radar for so long. It’s a nice blog that ocassionally lets you see the vines or winemaking. Most of it is devoted to talking about reviews received or trips abroad to Prowein, Hong Kong, and so on.
Clos Pacalis, Boutenac – Vineyard blog in French – I tragically seem to have caught this one too late as it is on an indefinite hiatus. Hope they come back soon. Good lookin’ Blogger blog.
Chateau Pech-Céleyran, Saint Exupery – Vineyard blog in French – A collection of updates on sales, art openings, weddings, etc. The aesthetics of the blog are a bit underworked, but that gives it a sort of authenticity. The pictures are honest, the comments brief. And every now and then you get a pearl like this photo of a baby drinking wine, and you know it isn’t staged.
Les échalas de Langlade, Langlade – Borderline in the Gard which is technically Languedoc but makes a lot of wines with Rhone on the label. This blog’s occasional updates include vineyard updates, local events, and other assorted stuff. The most interesting this is that it’s a joint effort between three independent winemakers in the same commune (Langlade). Intriguing!
Domaine Belles Courbes, St Chinian – Winery blog in French – Monthly updates on press and local events.
Domaine Virgile Joly, St Saturnin – Winery blog in French – Some photos and videos. Infrequent updates, but from a very charismatic producer with a lot of information to share.
Couvent Wine, Roujan – Winery blog in English – The Couvent Roujan, a successful B&B attached to a vineyard and olive plantation has recently started a full fledged winemaking blog attached to their wine production which has recently become a little more official. Until recently, they’d done some casual wine blogging at chateaumalaudos.com but I think they’re really buckled in for the long haul now. This blog might be moving up the list very quickly, so keep an eye on it.
Clos des Augustins, Pic Saint Loup – Winemaker blog in French – Occasional updates on press and the weather.
Some other Languedoc-Roussillon Domaines with blogs or occasional updates:
Please let me know if you run a winery blog, vineyard blog, winemaker blog, or similar site in the Languedoc Roussillon. I’m also compiling lists of top-notch
Feel free to email suggestions. Self-promotion encouraged. If I left you out, don’t feel bad. My memory is swiss cheese (full of holes). Just nudge me with a reminder via email.
The list of inactive blogs continues “below the fold”.
I posted a video montage of my visit to the Mas de l’Ecriture, but I never got around to showing you the unedited footage. It wasn’t really a convenional episode, so a lot of this footage is just camera staring off into space while I taste delicious wines. Live with it.
In the video, you get to see a bit more of Pasca Fulla, Lea Fulla and Louise Hurren. The Fullas make wine there and Louise gets people like me to talk about it. And all three of these talented individuals are contributing vast amounts of energy into creating more and more value in the Languedoc. There is also a child sneaking around in the background, but I’m the only person who saw him and the camera never caught him, so everybody thinks I’m crazy.
The unedited version has a lot more English in it, and it includes me failing to guess varietals repeatedly! So it’s worth following us along on a brut de cuve wine tasting at the Mas de l’Ecriture.
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Hope they come back soon. Good lookin’ Blogger blog.
Chateau Pech-Céleyran
