Duché d'Uzès
Duché d'Uzès Wine - Buy Wine from the Duché d'Uzès Region of France
Vin de Pays Duché d'Uzès denotes the wine region that surrounds the historic Dukedom of Uzès, the first Duchy of France which was established by royal decree in 1088. Wine has been produced in the region since the Middle Ages, but Duché d’Uzès gained Vin de Pays recognition in 1995 when it split from its near-neighbour Cévennes. Red, white and rosé wines are made from a variety of grape varieties - Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Ugni Blanc, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre.
The medieval hill town of Uzès, 18 kilometres north of Nîmes is wonderfully well preserved and boasts one of the finest food markets in southern France. It attracts crowds of tourists in the high summer season but if you can avoid that, it is a great destination for a Gallic getaway. You can canoe down the Gardon with a picnic, passing beneath the jaw-droppingly impressive Pont du Gard and then enjoy an al fresco supper in the cobbled Place aux Herbes in the evening.
Few visitors to the region know of the local ‘Duché d’Uzès’ Vin de Pays appellation, which is made by a handful of producers and tends to be consumed in situ rather than exported further afield.