When I travel to taste with winemakers, I’m rarely on my own. Most often I’m traveling with a small group of journalists, just five or six other writers. But sometimes the group is large, with thirty or forty of us flying in from all parts of the world to see, talk, and taste.
I’ve visited the Languedoc often over the last ten years, mostly with larger groups. I like these tours because I get to mingle with a range of colleagues. So do the winemakers — that’s the point, after all: Meet the press. But they also get to mingle with one another. Because hosting a big group provides them an excuse to gather in force, throw a party, open a slew of wines, visit, socialize, kvetch. I suspect the producers like these events even more than we do, because their 24/7 profession affords few other opportunities to gather within their ranks.
In my most recent trip to Languedoc, in June 2024, we enjoyed a parade of grand picnics featuring producers from specific regions — Faugères, Picpoul, St. Chinian, and, as here, Terrasses du Larzac. This illustration captures the dynamic: a group of winemakers, seated together after dinner, posing for a journalist’s camera.
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