St. Pierre, June 2002
St. Pierre (also known as St. Pierre la Mer, just to be confusing), in the Departement of Aude, is one of a string of beach resorts that have been relatively recently developed. It's a less-fashionable and cheaper area, not at all like the Nice/Cannes/Monaco sort of thing to the Northeast. But the beaches are actually a lot better: more sand, less rocks. Inland, one finds limestone hills, and lots of vineyards.
There are some quite traditional sweet wines such as Banyuls and Rivesaltes, and vast acreages of cheap "Vins de Pays d'Oc", forming the largest wine-growing area of France, and perhaps the world. More recently, ambitions have been raised, and there are some Appellations Contrôlées areas, such as Coteaux du Languedoc and Corbières. I'm particularly fond of the light and dry Rosés, the "vins de sable".
Read MoreThere are some quite traditional sweet wines such as Banyuls and Rivesaltes, and vast acreages of cheap "Vins de Pays d'Oc", forming the largest wine-growing area of France, and perhaps the world. More recently, ambitions have been raised, and there are some Appellations Contrôlées areas, such as Coteaux du Languedoc and Corbières. I'm particularly fond of the light and dry Rosés, the "vins de sable".
