The first contracts and marketing initiatives for PGI Terres du Midi

s they gathered around its cradle, Languedoc’s fairy godmothers predicted a miracle. “The gestation period turned out to be long and fraught with issues, but the birth is beautiful”, said Ludovic Roux, chairman of the Terres du Midi protected geographical indication. Presented on February 12 at Wine Paris, the newborn baby is truly a nascent PGI.

By February 2, a total 31,200 hectolitres of bulk red and rosé had been contracted, half from Aude, a quarter from Gard and a quarter from Hérault. As producers can switch from a departmental PGI designation to PGI Terres du Midi, the producers’ organisation aims to rapidly increase volumes; a long-term target of one million hectolitres has been set, which would be equivalent to the production of the four current departmental PGIs. With prices ranging from 60 to 70 euros per hectolitre, the regional PGI’s pricing is already virtually on a par with the departmental PGIs.

A new chapter

By being officially introduced on the PGI Pays d'Oc stand, Terres du Midi is clearly positioning itself as a complementary and not rival a designation to the regional PGI. Sharing the same sourcing area as Pays d'Oc, Terres du Midi is excluding varietal wines to avoid any conflict. Instead, the new PGI has opted for blended wines to take over from the four departmental PGIs. The decision aligns with the consensus reached by Occitan representatives of independent winegrowers, co-operative wineries and the PGI Pays d'Oc marketing board (Inter Oc).