Wines of South-West France: where to taste it at Christmas markets

The wines of South-West France bring together the scattered vineyards between the Bordeaux region and the Pyrenees, Cahors, Gaillac, Madiran, Bergerac or Jurançon, in reds, dry whites and sweet wines. At the region’s Christmas markets, the wine chalet is run by a winegrower from the neighbouring vineyard, next to the foie gras, the truffles and the walnuts, and the bottle goes into the Christmas basket.

Cahors, Jurançon, Madiran: which wine at which market

Each market sells the wine of its own vineyard, and they are nothing alike. In Cahors, the red is dominated by malbec, known locally as côt. In Pau, Jurançon comes as medium-sweet or sweet wine and as dry Jurançon. Tarbes offers Madiran and Pacherenc. Bergerac and Périgueux put Bergerac, Pécharmant and Monbazillac on the table.

In the Basque Country, Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz serve Irouléguy, a small appellation whose reds are based on tannat. Castres sells Gaillac, a vineyard of many styles, with its mauzac and len de l’el grapes and its méthode gaillacoise for sparkling wine. Rodez has Marcillac, Agen the wines of Buzet and the Brulhois, Brive-la-Gaillarde the wine of Corrèze.

Which South-West wines to try at a Christmas market

The wine is sold by the bottle at the producer’s stall, sometimes by the glass at the chalet. It also serves as the base for the region’s mulled wine. The pairings follow what the neighbouring stalls sell:

a red from Cahors or Bergerac with foie gras, truffles and walnuts, in Bergerac, Périgueux, Cahors or Agen,
an Irouléguy with Basque ham and Basque cake, in Biarritz or Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

These markets are local gatherings or day trips, with no big destination market among them: markets in mid-sized towns where the producer sells the bottle in person.

Wines of South-West France in pictures