The majority of our time spent in France on this trip has been in the Languedoc wine region of France. It's not the top tier region like Bordeaux or Cotes-du-Rhone or Champagne but the wineries here are small and unassuming (for the most part), even though it's the largest (volume and acreage) wine region in France. The locals are fiercely proud of their wine and are happy to take some time to introduce you to the region, its big producers, and the wines to try.

We don't typically tour vineyards unless we can set something up directly with the vineyard as many of the vineyard tours are hated as much by the vineyards as they are by the people on them. You would typically stop at multiple vineyards where some poor sap has rehearsed a 10 minute spiel on his wine. It's always best to reach out to a winery that you're interested in to see if you can have a tour of the place.

Languedoc has a wide variety of grapes - red grapes include syrah, grenache, and mouvedre, with varying amounts of cabernet, merlot, and others. White grapes include sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, viognier, chenin blanc, and mauzac. Narbonne is in the largest region, Corbieres, though most our favorite Rhone-style blends are from the Minervois area, which is just northeast of our last town, Carcassonne.

Wine here, like the food, is very inexpensive. The majority of local wines are less then 8 EURO (~$8.50) and the highest priced wines rarely go over 20 EURO. A glass of wine at a local bar/restaurant is typically a local one and generally cost 2-3 EURO.

We prefer the lesser known wine regions (like our Irouleguy visit in 2012) mostly because of the great wines that are not available in the US, the quality that can be found, and the cost to stay here. Bordeaux and Burgundy are great, but lodging and restaurants can be pricey, and there are fewer opportunities to sit and talk with a winemaker.

Next week we will stay with a family with a winery in the Bergerac region of southwest France. They are a 10th generation winery and relatives of a colleague of Megan's. After that we will be spending 2 weeks in Portugal, researching (drinking) this Port drink that people talk about.

-Preston