Roussillon is known for the diversity of its wines and terroirs. It is aregion where sea and mountains come together in an amphitheatre that nestles inthe south of France between Spain, the Mediterranean Sea, the Pyrenees andmountains of the Corbières. The region's unique geology and microclimates alloweach of the 23 authorized grape varieties to reach its fullest expression.Roussillon, the sunniest (and driest) region of France, currently producesaround 22 million gallons of wine a year and is the ninth largest producer ofwine in France. With its unique patchwork of micro-terroirs Roussillon offers adiverse range of wines including dry, still wines and fortified sweet wines. Roussillon is always seen as part of the Languedoc region (now itself mergedinto the new super-region of Occitanie) but for some time the distinctive winesof Roussillon have merited their own treatment. Roussillon is quite differentfrom the Languedoc. It did not become part of France until the treaty of thePyrenees in 1659 and it considers itself Catalan, not Occitan.

George considersthe rich history of the region, particularly the Spanish effect, and explainsthe predominance of vin doux naturel . The warm sunshine of Roussillonmakes for very ripe grapes and wines with high alcohol. She moves on to theviticulture, winemaking and grape varieties and the extraordinary variety ofterroirs and soils of the region. The topography of the vineyards of Roussillonis dominated by three river valleys, the Agly, Têt and Tech, flowing into theMediterranean near Perpignan. The soil of Roussillon is enormously varied,indeed some of the most varied of all the vineyards of France. The viticultureof Roussillon is founded on Grenache, initially for vin doux naturel ,but increasingly for table wines. And there are other grape varieties that aremore roussillonais than languedocien , such as Macabeo, with itsSpanish origins. The main part of The wines of Roussillon is the seriesof chapters by appellation, covering the key wine growers, with a balance ofwell-established, and newcomers, and also some cooperatives.

This is the firstbook-length study of the wines and winemakers of this stunning region. The flavours of Roussillon are quite different from those of the Languedoc.They are rich and warm. The wines of Roussillon have evolved, as they have inthe Languedoc, becoming more sophisticated, prompted partly by the increase inthe number of independent producers as opposed to the previous extensivedomination of the cooperatives. As in the Languedoc, white wine is becomingmore important, with white Collioure as well as IGPs from cooler areas in thehigh hills. Whether readers want to seek out and enjoy againa once-mystery bottle bought locally and, with new insight, get a colourfultaste of the people, terrain and story behind it, or to explore this stunningwild wine region for themselves, helped along by some background informationand opinion on where to find these winemakers, Rosemary George's The winesof Roussillon is the ideal companion.