Wineries in Gard
Gard: vineyards between the Cévennes, the Rhône and the Camargue
The Gard is the easternmost département of Occitanie. Its vineyards stretch from the first foothills of the Cévennes, to the north-west, to the banks of the Rhône in the east and the lagoons of the Camargue in the south. In between, garrigue, holm oaks and villages of pale stone around Nîmes and Uzès make up a thoroughly Mediterranean landscape, swept by the mistral.
The département sits where two great wine regions meet: the Rhône valley, on the right bank of the river, and Languedoc, to the west. That is what makes it so varied: within an hour’s drive you go from the rolled pebbles of Lirac to the limestone soils of the Vaunage or the schist of the Cévennes.
The appellations of the Gard
- Gard Côtes du Rhône: along the river, Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages, some of whose villages, such as Laudun or Chusclan, carry their name on the label.
- Lirac and Tavel: two neighbouring crus facing Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Lirac makes wines in all three colours; Tavel is the only appellation of the Rhône valley that makes nothing but rosé.
- Costières de Nîmes: south of Nîmes, terraces of rolled pebbles running down towards the Camargue.
- Duché d’Uzès: a recent appellation around Uzès, in red, rosé and white.
- Clairette de Bellegarde: a small white-wine appellation made from the Clairette grape alone.
- To the west, the AOP Languedoc covers the area around Sommières, and the Pic Saint-Loup appellation spills over into a few Gard villages: Corconne is one of them, where Mas Picas farms its vines organically.
The IGP Cévennes, Gard, Coteaux du Pont du Gard and Pays d’Oc complete the picture. Many organic or natural growers label part of their cuvées under these IGPs, or release them as Vin de France: the absence of an appellation on the label says nothing about the quality of the wine.
Organic, biodynamic and natural winegrowers
Near Uzès, Clos de la Garriguette farms ten hectares organically, in Duché d’Uzès and IGP Cévennes. In Valliguières, not far from the Pont du Gard, Domaine du Petit Oratoire has brought old Carignan and Grenache vines back into cultivation, certified Demeter, for natural wines made without additives. In La Bastide-d’Engras, the Orthodox sisters of the Monastère de Solan have farmed their vines organically since 1992.
In the Vaunage, at Calvisson, between Nîmes and Montpellier, Domaine de l’Escattes has been certified organic since 2013. Further north-west, in Bragassargues, near Quissac, stands Château de Roux. On the right bank of the Rhône, in Roquemaure, Château de Clary, certified organic since 2019, neighbours Château Boucarut, which works 20 hectares in Lirac, Tavel and IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard. Domaine La Lôyane, in Rochefort-du-Gard, also farms plots of Lirac and Tavel.
Planning your visit to the Gard
Nîmes and Avignon are the two gateways to the vineyards. From Avignon, Lirac, Tavel and Roquemaure are only about twenty minutes away, across the Rhône. Uzès, with its Place aux Herbes and Saturday market, combines easily with the Pont du Gard, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the estates around it. The Costières and the Vaunage are visited from Nîmes, heading towards the Camargue or Sommières.
The estates are often small family farms: book before you drop by, especially during the harvest, from late August to early October. To go further, Languedoc and the Rhône valley gather the other estates of the region.