La Domitienne

France

Upholding family winemaking traditions

The enchantingly named La Domitienne is made from the Picpoul (Piquepol) Blanc, one of the early varietals that inhabit the southeastern French coast along the Mediterranean. It has its own appellation that it shares with its identical grapes the Picpol (Piquepol) Noir and Picpol (Piquepol) Gray.

The vineyards are the property of the Bonfils Family and occupy sections in the sub areas of Minervois and Corbieres. While the entire Languedoc region includes numerous growers, the relative small Picpoul de Pinet growing region has only 26 independent producers.

The name La Domitienne is named after the ancient road, Via Domitian which divides the two growing zones, one in the North and the other in the South. The Via Domitia was the Roman road that allowed Roman soldiers to control all of Southern Gaul.

The Picpoul de Pinet is also the only appellation within Languedoc that is entirely devoted to white wines. It was granted appellation status in 1985, ahead of many of its neighboring growing areas.

The wines produced in Picpoul de Pinet have a lemony appeal on the palate, perfectly suited to oysters. The nearby Thau Basin is considered one of the Mediterranean’s prized locations for shellfish, and in particular oysters.

Each and every wine selected for our six different Wine Clubs meets our strict guidelines for quality and rating criteria. Each wine is handcrafted by an authentic, small-production boutique winery with a compelling story to tell like the one above. Since our first Gold Wine Club shipment in 1992, we have added five more impressive Wine Clubs to choose from—each a showcase for highly-rated, sought-after wines you can enjoy as a Gold Medal, wine of the month club member.

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Languedoc, France

Languedoc wines have only seen American shelves and wine list inclusion for approximately two decades. It is a huge wine-growing region, accounting for more than a third of France’s total production. In former years, the region’s wines were relegated to lower status, but a great deal has changed in recent years. Fostered by quality-oriented appellations, a number of individual producers have emerged that have produce some high-tier wines for consumption within France and throughout the world. Some of Languedoc’s (pronounced Lang-gue-duc) quality wines have impressed in international competitions and have made the entire region a place to watch for the future. With excellent price/value relationships still available, Languedoc has steadily risen in both statue and popularity.

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Xavier-Luc Linglin - Winemaker

Finally, well-respected winemaker Xavier-Luc Linglin is a veteran of the Languedoc winemaking community. He has directed the new high-tech winemaking facility at Meze, on the northern edge of the L’Etang de Thau, since its inception.

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The Flag of France

The French national flag is called ‘The Tricolor,’ which in French is ‘Drapeau Tricolore,’ and consists of three vertical stripes. The tricolor was created in July 1789 during the French Revolution from a rosette by Marquis de Lafayette. The combination of red and blue (colors of Paris) and the royal color white (symbolizing the return of the King) were chosen, and thus became the cockade for the revolution.

The tricolor was established as France’s national flag in 1794. In the early 1800’s, Napolean replaced the tricolor with the royal white standard with fleur-de-lis, but in 1830 Louis-Phillippe restored the original tricolor as the national flag. Since then, no changes have been made to its colors or its pattern.