Domaine La Grange english

A near miss!

It was probably a cigarette butt, carelessly thrown away, that started violent fires near Gabian last week. Because of the prolonged draught (we haven't had any rain for weeks) the Garrigue burned like scale. Stormy winds made the fire come very close to La Grange. They could be stopped only a very short distance from the cellar.

We cannot praise the courageous commitment of the firefighters enough; two of them suffered serious injuries. They used the water from the La Grange pool to extinguish the fire, a scant meters away from the sheep shed.

They also lit the harvested field next to La Grange as a counter-fiere.
The edges of the vineyards right above the cellar have been charred, but our winemaker Thomas assures us that the plants will recover until next year.
No building has been damaged, everyone is well, even the sheep, and a wine tasting could be held at the winery the same day. The present firefighters were applauded repeatedly.

Garrique – the typical landscape around La Grange

All our vineyards are nestled into the Garrigue, the typical landscape in Languedoc. It's made of shrubs like gorse, prickly holm oaks, rosemary, thyme, juniper and the occasional olive or fig tree.

In spring everything is in bloom and the Garrigue is magnificent to behold. During the summer months it's tantalising fragrances waft through our vineyards.

The Garrigue is not only beautiful, though. It also provides shelter to a wide variety of animals that naturally protect our vineyards. Every once in a while wild boars inspect and admire our vineyards, too,  something we appreciate a little less.

If you would like to read more about the Garrigue, try out this article on Wikipedia.