You could say that Montpellier airport is the gateway to the Languedoc. After all there is a large sign that welcomes you to the largest vineyard in the world, but sadly nobody seems to have pointed this out to the people who run the revamped cafe / restaurant at the airport. You would have thought that the airport restaurant would have provided an excellent opportunity to showcase some of the wonderful flavours of the Languedoc, but no......
Let me share the wine list with you. For white wine, there is a Pays d’Oc Viognier, but the other two wines are Bordeaux Blanc and Sancerre. For reds, they are offering a Costières de Nimes, which is not too far away, but administratively that appellation is part of the Rhône Valley and not the Languedoc. The other reds are Bordeaux Rouge, Côtes du Rhône and Vin de Pays du Var, which is Provence. Why not a Vin de Pays de l’Hérault?
There is one rosé from the Languedoc, Listel’s Vin de Pays des Sables du Golfe du Lion and also a Costières de Nimes, but the other two are Bandol and Tavel..... and the list finishes with a small category labelled Vins du Monde, which is made up of an Argentine Malbec and two South African wines, a red and a white, going under the brand name of Zoulou Tentation.... Words fail me. What a missed opportunity. Where was the Faugères, the St. Chinian, Minervois, Corbières etc.. etc. And how about ringing the changes with a wine of the week, or a wine of the month?
And since you ask, I had a glass of the Listel rosé ......