I live just north of Atlanta, Georgia. Technically the deep south, but Atlanta is actually in north Georgia, in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. In my 25 years of living here, I have experienced January temperatures ranging from freezing to the 70’s in January, but I cannot recall a January as cold as the current one. We have had what feels like weeks of temps below freezing, and experienced a first ever cold weather warning that forecasted windchills in the negative range. We had a dusting of snow that actually stuck around for a few days due to the frigid temperatures.

So what is a girl to do in this never ending winter of discontent? Travel to the sunny south of France through a bottle of wine of course!

Lynn Gowdy of Savoring the Harvest is the host of a #winophiles writing event with the theme of “Forgotten Grapes of France.” She was kind enough to include a list of grapes to look for, see the invite here.

On a trip to Total Wine for Luxardo cherries, I found myself perusing every aisle, checking out anything that looks interesting. It was here I came across this unassuming bottle of Piquepoul and Terret, from Côtes de Thau. Priced at $11.99 I did not have high hopes. Nevertheless, I had never heard of the Terret grape, or the Côtes de Thau region. This might do I thought.

With literally nothing to lose, I brought this bottle home and I sent a pic to Lynn and she confirmed this would work for the theme she had chosen. I was thrilled to have accidentally found just what I needed. Serendipity.

Les Filets|Côtes de Thau|Picquepoul & Terret|12% ABV|$11.99

Spoiler alert. This wine is a find! This is exactly the wine you would expect to find in a little cafe that you randomly stop at while meandering through the south of France.

Seriously. I can’t believe I found this on a whim, and for such a low price. I am definitely going back to buy the few bottles that were on the shelf because this is a perfect summer white to sip with oysters, cheese, charcuterie, or nothing at all.

Surprisingly expressive with layers of tropical fruit, floral notes, great acidity, and a mineral note that reminds of me of fresh cotton sheets. We paired it with smoked chicken quarters that had a hint of spice and this wine went so well with it. I wonder if there is a touch of residual sugar that is hard to detect due to the great acidity? We also had roasted green beans, that were just a bit caramelized. Perfection.

I love to sit down and dig into a good research session on any bottle of wine. One of my favorite sources is the importer’s website. This is usually a great source of information, unless you are buying from Total Wine and the bottle was imported through Saranty Imports. Saranty is owned and operated by Total Wine and information on these wines is usually limited to whatever Total Wine puts on their website, which is pretty basic.

I could find nothing on the producer or production methods of this wine, but here is what I learned about the grapes and the region.

The grapes

The wine is 65% Piquepoul (also commonly spelled Picpoul), and 35% Terret.

These two grapes have a lot in common:

• They are both used in the production of Vermouth
• They are both native to the Languedoc-Roussilon region
• They are both used in blends from the neighboring Southern Rhone region
• They were both nearly extinct at some point in recent history

Picpoul has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in recent years. Although there is an AOC region dedicated to the grape – Picpoul de Pinet – where the wines are 100% Picpoul, it is often used in white blends. You can also find new world options showcasing this varietal from Australia, California, Washington, Texas, and New York.

Picpoul literally means “lip stinger,” owing that name to the grapes high acidity. The flavor profile also includes citrus notes, green apple, floral and mineral notes.

Terret Blanc is so uncommon that I could not find it mentioned in either of my go to reference books, the Wine Bible or The World Atlas of Wine. Terret Noir is there, but not Terret Blanc. I searched for Terret Blanc at the Vins de Languedoc website and had no luck there either. Such rarity for only $11.99!

Apparently Terret spans the color spectrum from noir to gris to blanc and is so susceptible to mutation that local growers claim to have seen single vines bearing bunches of noir, gris, and blanc at the same time.

In the 1980’s Terret was quite common in the Languedoc region. I read that it was equal to the region’s Chardonnay plantings. Wait. What? Unless I am drinking a Limoux I really don’t think of the Languedoc and Chardonnay together, but guess what? It is the most common white grape planted in France’s largest grape growing region. Who knew? Well, I am sure lots of people, but not me.

Despite being the number 2 white grape planted in the Languedoc-Roussilon region in the 1980’s, it is not that common today. In fact, it now grows almost exclusively in the Côtes de Thau.

Terret Blanc wine is considered to be a light wine with exotic fruit flavors, some floral notes, and a hint of minerality. It has great acidity but, not as high as Picpoul.

the region

Côtes de Thau is an IGP region (1981) that has wine making history dating back to the 17th century. The first vines planted here were allegedly Terret. Once known for oxidative white wines and vermouth, the original IGP designation was exclusively for sparkling wines. Today, sparkling wines are not permitted, and still white and rose wines are what the region is known for. Talk about transformations! Red wine is permitted but represents only about 7% of production.

According to the Wines of Languedoc website there are 18 independent wineries and 6 cooperatives, producing about 3,000,000 gallons of wine annually. That shocked me, it seems like a lot of wine for a region I had never heard of.

Côtes de Thau is near the Mediterranean coastline, buffered by the Thau Basin, a salt water lake known for oyster farming. A classic case of what grows together goes together if ever there was one!

The southern part of Côtes de Thau overlaps the Picpoul de Pinet region, which makes this particular wine feel like destiny.

This wine was just the ticket for a little escape from the abnormally cold winter weather that not only my region, but much of the northern hemisphere has experienced this January. I am reminded of one of wines greatest abilities – to transport to us to the time and place in the chosen bottle.

And in this case, I discovered a grape and region that are new to me.

You can do a little more armchair travelling, and learn many new things about other forgotten grapes of France through the links below of fellow #winophiles participating in this month’s writing event:

• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog shares “Forgotten Grapes of France: Poulsard Shines in the 2022 Domaine Dugois ‘La Sombarde”
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “A Sauvignon Gris from Bordeaux paired with a Chicken Stew from Zambia”
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “Rosé d’Anjou with Groulleau and a budget-friendly variation on Crab Mac & Cheese!”
• Camilla from Culinary Cam shares “A Pair of Picpoul – From Two Continents – with a Simple Salmon Dinner”
• David from Cooking Chat shares “French Alpine Wines and Pairings to Go With Them”
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator shares “Forgotten Grapes from Corsica”
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass shares “Jurancon Noir: A very berry grape from southwest France”
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! shares “Forgotten Grapes of France: Fer Servadou from Aveyron”
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest shares “Forgotten Grapes of France”

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https://languedoc-wines.com/appellation/igp/cotes-de-thau/

https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-igp+cotes+de+thau