The appellation named after the small town of the same name is located in the east of the wine-growing region of south-west France. Gaillac is one of the oldest wine-growing regions in France. Viticulture has been practised here by the Romans since at least the 1st century. However, it is possible that the Celts (Gauls) had already been growing wine before then. It came to a standstill during the Migration Period and was only re-established in the 10th century by the Benedictine monks of the Saint-Michel-de-Gaillac monastery. In the 13th century, the Count of Toulouse, Raymond VII, issued a decree for his wine-growing region to have a controlled origin. As early as the 12th century, the wine was exported to England in particular and enjoyed great popularity there. The Aquitanian poet Auger Galhard (1540-1593) praised the sparkling wine long before the invention of champagne. Until the middle of the 20th century, they specialised in sweet white wines, but then they also began to produce rosé and red wines.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien