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Frontignan
is situated on the touristic axis Sète-Montpellier, ranks
fourth in population in the department Herault. The city will charm
you with its picturesque style and past history.
Impossible,
in arriving at Frontignan to ignore that one is in the capital of
Muscat wine. It has been so for 2000 years! These tiny grapes from
which the naturally mild wine is produced were already cultivated
by the Romans under the name of "apianae", which means
"which attracts bees". The method used then and even now
is that the grapes are left unharvested past maturity, thus naturally
increasing their concentration of sugar and thereby obtaining this
sought after liquor-like wine.
The
success of the Muscat wine remains always. During the XVIII century,
a marquis from the region of Sauternes, in trying to copy the Muscat,
ended up with one of the greatest Bordeaux wines. By coming to Frontignan
and observing the production of the Muscat, this marquis thought
that he could produce the same at home. But the sun in Bordeaux
is not the same as the one in Frontignan ! When he left his grapes
on the vines past maturity, the result was not an increase in concentration
of sugar but a sort of rotting. Our marquis was not discouraged
but continued work on his wine. Even though very different, he found
it to be very good : he just invented a royal decay which gave birth
to one of the most prestigious wines in the world...the "domaine"
was called Château Yquem !!
Around
the same time, he found bottling for his wine - a master glass maker
from Frontignan had just finished the fabrication of cylindrical
bottles. The marquis took samples back to Bordeaux. This invention
by a Languedocian became the famous bottle of Bordeaux which the
people at Bordeaux call the "Frontignan".
Around the same time, he found bottling for his wine - a master
glass maker from Frontignan had just finished the fabrication of
cylindrical bottles. The marquis took samples back to Bordeaux.
This invention by a Languedocian became the famous bottle of Bordeaux
which the people at Bordeaux call the "Frontignan".
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