Our Sommelier Lionel Lachasseigne is taking us back to his beautiful home region of Languedoc Roussillon for his next wine dinner on Saturday 9 February.

“My only regret is that I should have featured this region before now”, said Lionel.

Lionel grew up in Montpellier on the eastern side of Languedoc, France’s largest wine producing region and has been enjoying the wines there from a young age.

“Languedoc has always produced a huge quantity of wine, in World War Two the French soldiers’ daily ration of wine came from here, but in recent years the wine growers have changed their focus to producing wines of better quality”, explained Lionel.

“There are now some superb wines available at excellent prices, you just need to know what you are looking for. Some of these can now compete with the best in the world.”

The Romans brought vines to this area more than 6,000 years ago along with some amazing architecture, including the amphitheatre at Nimes and the staggering viaduct at Pont du Gard.

More recently New World winemakers have arrived in the region introducing new techniques and bringing different vines which have all helped improve the wines.

Unsurprisingly Languedoc-Roussillon was originally two regions. Languedoc’s vineyards stretch along the coastline while in Roussillon the vines cling to the clifftops or take shelter in the foothills of the Pyrenees, dividing France from Spain.

Its hot and dry Meditteranean climate helps the region produce an amazing range of wine, light reds, whites, roses, sweet Muscat and even sparkling Limoux. Come along to our wine dinner to enjoy Lionel’s handpicked selection of some of the best wines from Languedoc accompanied by a gastronomic tour of the region’s delights.