The best local producers Gard

These beekeepers practice transhumance over lavender fields, chestnut and acacia forests, garrigues and causses, offering a wide range of locally-produced organic honeys. Thirteen varieties of honey and a wide range of products are on offer: honey gingerbread, mead, honey nougat, honey sweets, honey vinegar, propolis, beeswax... The honey house also boasts a large production of royal jelly.

Like any rare and quality product, Claire Thomassot's oil is worth it. You will need to go through the small roads of the Gard to arrive in the hamlet of Montèze. When the tar becomes earth and pebbles, you finally reach your goal. Hidden in a pine forest, Clare's mas could be a vision of paradise. The oil from the mill that occupies the ground floor is in any case a genuine nectar of the gods. This farmer's daughter is alone in extracting olive oil (even though the entire village takes part in the harvest), which is in 5 vintages: the PDO of Nîmes, Aglandau, Bouteillan, La and Sauzen (a local variety from centuries-old trees). But to have the chance to taste these oils that have won the 2012 award of excellence from the general agricultural competition in Paris, you will have to hurry: production runs within a few weeks! Clearly, Claire Thomassot's oil is really worth it.

Jean and his daughter Belen continue this 90-year-old operation. They crush varieties of picholine, arbéquine, négrette, coillasse, cul-blanc and ascolane and produce a traditional extra-virgin olive oil. If you come to the mill, you can visit the facilities all year round. The unique taste of our olive oils is due to the fact that the olives are picked when they are at their peak of ripeness, when they contain the most polyphenols, which give them the typical taste of the region's cuisine.

The Chartreuse oil mill is one of the oldest in France still in operation. It was created in 1358 by the Carthusian order, and in 2009 its buildings were listed as historical heritage. The mill was taken over in 2008 by the Bronzini family. It is Philippe, master miller passionate about his job, who is in charge of crushing the olives to produce 3 oils: the Cuvée des Chartreux, the Cuvée Diamant Noir Provence and the Cuvée à l'Ancienne.

On 12 hectares, Lydie and Jean-Charles Laroche cultivate olive art and produce their oil thanks to a mixture of centuries-old olive trees inherited from previous generations and young shoots planted twenty years ago. Since 2008, the couple has acquired a press and is carrying out the press itself, reducing the time between harvest and pressing to a maximum. By marrying picholine, lucca and arbequine, their oil, ranging from green to ripe fruity, develops notes of almonds, flower of genêt and d, while having a low ardence.

Christophe, son of Roger Paradis, has taken over the adventure begun by his father. Located in a ^16th-century farmhouse surrounded by garrigue, the Paradis mill produces an atypically fragrant AOC Nîmes olive oil. The olive varieties it crushes come exclusively from the local terroir. In addition to AOC olive oil, we also offer single-variety picholine, négrette, bouteillan, aglandau and old-fashioned oil. A guided tour is available by appointment from April to October to discover the secrets of the mill.

A family property since 1955, Château de la Tuilerie is located on the oldest geological part of the Costières de Nîmes appellation. The vineyard extends over 59 hectares surrounded by the purple foothills of the Cévennes to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Château de la Tuilerie is considered one of the references of the Costières de Nîmes appellation, offering wines of great finesse and elegance. This winery blends refinement with the comfort of a modern cellar. Wines to be discovered in situ, or à la carte from the best restaurants in the Gard.

Four generations of confectioners have succeeded one another to offer you locally produced olives. Master olive confectioner, Daniel is the guarantor of the traditions and know-how linked to the Nîmes products that he offers here with passion. The oil from the Gard is particularly well cared for and all the olives come from the Ateliers du Moulin. Moreover, the control of the taste is systematic so that it preserves all its characteristics. Good tasting !

For four generations, the Saïn family has specialised in the production of green asparagus, kiwis, peaches, nectarines, table grapes (muscat, Alphonse Lavallée and a new variety: Prima). Today, Hervé and Florence, brother and sister, play the diversity card by offering a wide range of local and seasonal products, some of which come from producer friends. Here you will find everything you would expect from your vegetable shop. And not to spoil anything, you will be advised and served with a smile.

It is in the heart of the garrigue that Lydie and Yolande raise a hundred goats. Most of them are Rove goats, a rustic breed well known near the creeks of Marseille. They are also recognizable by their beautiful horns that curl around themselves. The rest of the herd is composed of alpine goats with a buff color. Grazing in the middle of nature, the herd maintains the spaces and helps to fight against the fires. A healthy, natural and varied diet that gives a special flavor to the cheese.

Settled in the heart of the high Cevennes, Melissa Brun and Nicolas Boutin took over the family farm in 2013. Castaneiculturists in organic farming, their chestnut groves are located around the village. They grow exclusively traditional varieties, namely figarettes, pellegrines, rabairaises. These are registered in the specifications of the PDO Chestnuts of the Cevennes. The chestnut harvest is sold fresh, but also in jams, flours and Castane products (alliance of a group of independent Cévennes chestnut growers).

At the Valbonne farm, everything is a question of trees and passion. It is in Saint-André de Majencoules that Michel Levesque opens the doors of his farm and his chestnut grove. In the heart of the Cevennes, Michel produces and transforms biodynamically grown chestnuts on site. To come, buy at the farm or by mail order, you can enjoy a wide range of chestnut jams and chestnut creams. Fresh chestnuts, flour or the home-made creation, the chestnut breakfast, energizing and delicious.

At Mas des Bouviers, Loïc Lossois is a producer and miller. for 3 months of the year, nearly 1,700 suppliers entrust him with the crushing of their olive harvest. The old-fashioned plantations, with picholine, stand side by side with plots of foreign varieties grown at high density. This "lover of bouteillan", one of the estate's other varieties, produces 3 types of oil each season. Training in pruning and maintenance is provided.

Based in the hamlet of Bizac, Nathalie Gonzalez started in 2009. This farmer presses in her mill the olives from the 2 ha of trees she owns. The oil produced is made with picholine (in fruity green); the lucques are used for table olives. You will also find in the shop the products from its 200 beehives: honey (chestnut, lavender, garrigue...) as well as gingerbread, marshmallows, biscuits.

Founded in 1924, this Beaucaire cooperative is the town's oldest olive oil processing plant. Equipped with a modern extraction line, it produces a range of oils, including the PDO Nîmes olive oil, which has won several gold medals, as well as La Mamé, made from fully matured black olives. Also on sale is an organic olive oil made from olives harvested on the Costières plateau. Visit and tasting at the mill free of charge.

The owners practise their trade with passion, respecting the traditions of yesteryear and using modern technology. Le Moulin d'Uzès produces its olive oil by cold extraction using a centrifuge. Picholine, a Nîmes PDO registered variety, is produced and processed to give an authentic oil with a fine, fragrant taste. Olive oil from France comes from harvests in the Gard region by partner farmers. These flavours can be found in the boutique after a visit to the mill and a tasting session at the oil bar.

For 4 generations, Christophe Paradis has been perpetuating the family tradition of milling. In the mill and sales outlet, which is located near the road leading from Uzès to Remoulins, one can discover the secrets of the manufacture of oil in the old way and the stages of the elaboration of this essential southern product. The mill produces and sells a quality oil, monovarietal picholine, aglandau, bouteillan, négrette and oils of assembly like the sublime oil taste to the old, resulting from over-ripened olives. A visit which is essential.

Since 2004, the mill is installed in the activity zone of Milliaires. It specializes in olive oil from the Picholine variety and is certified organic. This olive from the Gard gives the olive oil an inimitable green fruitiness and ardour. The oil bar of the mill allows you to taste other Gardoise oils freshly pressed at the mill: AOP of Nîmes, etc... The shop also offers a wide range of regional products related to the olive tree

It was in 1997 that the union of olive growers of the Gard filed the request for recognition as an AOC for the olive of Nîmes and the olive oil of Nîmes obtained respectively in 2004 and 2006. From now on PDO, these appellations around the picholine olive certify a large part of the department as well as the communes of Herault. Nîmes olive oil stands out for its herbaceous aromas and its power. The Nîmes olive offers a crunchy taste that is much appreciated by gourmets.

This family business initially specialized in olive oil production. Then, after the terrible frost of 1956, Emile Noël successfully turned to oilseed crushing. Thanks to a traditional, artisanal method, with slow, gentle extraction, the company's certified organic oils are known the world over, and have a large following. Today, the Emile Noël oil mill is reviving its olive-growing tradition with the acquisition of 300 olive trees in Spain. The organic store awaits you for direct sales and more.