Gard

Département in the south of France on the Mediterranean coast with the capital Nîmes in the political region of Occitania. It was named after the river Gard, a tributary of the Rhône and lies between the departments of Hérault (west) and Vaucluse (east). The department is geologically divided into four zones. These are the Cévennes in the northwest, the scrublands in the centre, the Costières in the southeast and the lowlands in the south consisting of the Rhône valley and the Mediterranean coastal plain. The climate is Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and autumns with intense rain and the cold and dreaded fall wind, the Mistral. Gard is divided by wine law into two regions, Languedoc and Rhône. The AOC areas:

• Chusclan - Rhône
• Costières de Nîmes - Rhône
• Clairette de Bellegarde - Languedoc
• Côtes du Rhône - Rhône
• Côtes du Rhône-Villages - Rhone
• Côtes du Vivarais - Rhône
• Duché-d'uzès - Rhône
• Laudún - Rhône
• Lirac - Rhône
• Pic Saint-Loup - Languedoc
• Saint-Gervais - Rhône
• Signargues - Rhône
• Sommières - Languedoc
• Tavel - Rhône

The local wine or IGP area encompassing the entire département is called Gard. There are also the local IGP areas Cévennes, Coteaux du Pont du Gard, Duché d'Uzès and Sable de Camargue (formerly Vin de pays Sables du Golfe du Lion), as well as the huge supra-regional IGP area Pays d'Oc. 80% of the wines produced are red, and 10% each are rosé and white. As a speciality, there is also a light-pressed rosé version Gris de gr is. The most important red wine varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan Noir (Mazuelo), Merlot, Grenache Noir (Garnacha Tinta), Cinsault, Mourvèdre (Monastrell), Pinot Noir and Syrah, the most important white wine varieties are Grenache Blanc (Garnacha Blanca), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Bl anc, Rolle (Vermentino), Viognier and Clairette.

From Vi..Cult... - Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link