Faugères is not the oldest winemaking area in Languedoc. In the Middle Ages, its land was mainly used for growing grain, and olive trees. Some vines were also grown, however, but mainly for producing altar wine.
Faugères really came into bloom as a wine-producing area around the time of the French revolution, i.e. around the start of the 19th century. Local wine was in fact mainly turned into a type of eau de vie, using a Charentaise distilling method that was practically unknown in the Languedoc. This method was called 'fine', so this eau de vie was named 'Fine Faugères'.
Recent history
1948: The Faugères terroir's borders were defined, in the aftermath of the Second World War. Its borders remain the same to this day.
1960s: Violent storms brought destruction to part of the Faugères vineyards, with torrential rain that gullied the vines. Certain plots of land were completely buried in landslides. Vines were replanted along the contour lines of the newly formed land.
2000: Eau de vie production was recommenced in Faugères.
2005: AOC replaced VDQS status for the white Faugères wines.
2017: And now, Appellation d'Origine Protégée will replace AOC which represents a new 'quality' ladder of designation.
Etymology
The name of the AOC comes from the village Faugères, whose earliest known written form, dating back to 934 AD, was de Falgarias. This in turn is taken from the Latin filicaria, meaning "fern" in English, and translating into French as "fougère".
Geography
Orography
The appellation area covers 1800 hectares, and consists mainly of primary, schist soils. The majority of the region's vineyards have full southern exposure and lie on rugged slopes. Some hills in the northern area of the appellation area reach altitudes higher than 500m. The Departmental Director of Agriculture, in collaboration with 'SAFER', have experimented setting up vineyards along contour lines, which serves to limit the effects of erosion.
Geology
The Faugères AOC soil is mainly composed of schist. This schist is metamorphic rock, the result of excessive pressure on clay deposits during the Paleozoic Era and the formation of the Massif Central to the North. Schist is characterised by its capacity to retain large amounts of water and its heat-storing properties, absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night. Faugères winemakers often say that their grapes ripen overnight. A geological curiosity exists in the Cabrerolles commune - the meteorite hole, a kind of meteor crater whose origins remain uncertain. The crater is in a place named 'Le Clot'. The outer rim of the crater has vines planted on it, which produces a wine called 'Domaine du Météore'.
Climate
This terroir enjoys a Mediterranean climate with mountainous influences, characterised by gentle winters, hot, dry summers, and a low amount of rainfall that comes mainly in the winter months. Its main winds are the Tramontane, a dry and cold wind that blows clouds away, and the Marin, a humid wind that, contrarily, brings clouds in. The climate can sometimes be very harsh. The table below records temperatures and rainfall for 2007:
Vines are planted against the slope to gain maximum sunlight from southern exposure. After the awful storms in the 1960s, however, Faugères winemakers replanted a lot of vines along the terrain's contour lines. The vines are now adapted to the natural slope of the schist hillsides. Because of this, the erosive effects of heavy autumnal rain are much smaller than in other vineyards in the Languedoc. Similar projects are being considered by the Saint-Chinian AOC and Coteaux du Languedoc areas.
