Pays d'Oc: Domaine Villepeyroux Forest Pinot Noir Black Hole Sun

The Languedoc, though often referred to loosely as a single entity, is not a wine appellation in its own right but a broad Mediterranean region encompassing a wealth of individual appellations. Traditionally, labels carried the specific titles of Languedoc AOC and its numerous sub-regions, from Corbières and Minervois to Pic Saint-Loup and Faugères. Since January 2016, the historic Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions have been administratively merged into Occitanie, France's newest region. Stretching along the coast from the Rhône towards the Spanish border, the Languedoc is one of France's largest and most diverse wine-producing areas.

Pays d'Oc is one of the largest wine regions in France and the world, covering much of southern France and overlapping the Languedoc-Roussillon. It is not an AOP but an IGP, spanning four departments - the Aude, Gard, Hérault, and Pyrénées-Orientales - with a few communes in Lozère. As one of the sunniest wine regions on the continent, with diverse microclimates and relatively relaxed regulations, it allows growers to work with virtually any grape and to produce still, sweet, and sparkling wines in every colour. Home to some 200 cooperatives and 1,200 independent producers, it accounts for 60% of France's IGP-level wine - around 760 million bottles a year - and, with quality better than ever, rewards those seeking out its many gems.