Picpoul de Pinet

Picpoul de Pinet Wine - Buy Wine from the Picpoul de Pinet Region of France

‘Picpoul’ means ‘lip-sting’ in the old patois of the Languedoc, thus named because of its zesty acidity. ‘Pinet’ is the foremost wine-producing commune on the banks of the Bassin de Thau, the vast salt water lagoon just south-west of Montpellier. The grape (which is confusingly spelt ‘Piquepoul’) and the place are combined in a 650 hectare specialist appellation producing bracing, dry white wines that are the ideal accompaniment for the mussels and oysters which flourish in the bassin. Such is the popularity of Picoul de Pinet on these shores today that it is hard to imagine that Yapp Brothers were pioneers of it less than a decade ago.
Ludovic Gaujal, whose winery is in the centre of Pinet itself, is widely regarded as one of the best of the 13 independent producers.