Camargue
Bull meat, served as gardianne after having been macerated in red wine and simmered for at least 2 hours, stands out for its frank, assertive taste. Recognized as a meat of excellence, with an AOC classification, it comes from just two breeds: "de combat" and "de taureau de Camargue raço di biou", or a cross between the two. Tellines, small triangular-shaped shellfish, are eaten on the coast in salads, after being opened in a frying pan. Aïoli camarguaise is a rouille made from octopus and potatoes, mixed with the typical aïoli of Mediterranean cuisine. In Aigues-Mortes, try fougasse, a brioche glazed with sugar and leavened with orange blossom. The recipe was stopped in the 70s, and certain ingredients kept secret to make it a unique delicacy. Camargue rice benefits from varietal research that promises quality production. Fleur de sel de Camargue benefits from the Mistral and Tramontane winds, although it's only when the winds stop that the flower forms on the surface of the crystallizers and is picked by hand, before a breeze carries away the fine flakes.
Sable de Camargue wines, IGP, are drunk here, with Gris, Gris de Gris and Rosé accounting for 94% of the production of the 115 winegrower-producers. These wines reflect their terroir with their salmon color and marine influence revealing iodine notes. The main grape varieties are Grenache Noir and Grenache Gris, and the capital of this production is Aigues-Mortes. On the beer front, you'll easily find Brasserie Artisanale de Beaucaire or Bières des Gardians, brewed with Camargue rice.
Nîmes and surroundings
In Nîmes, the great specialty is brandade de morue (codfish brandade), although this fish comes from the northern seas. A long time ago, Newfoundlanders from the west came to Nîmes to stock up on bags of salt from the Camargue, which they exchanged for cod, then consumed throughout the region. A man from Nîmes came up with the idea of grinding the cod's flesh, adding olive oil and other spices to enhance the taste. Brandade can be eaten plain or prepared as a turnover, puff pastry or soufflé. It is sometimes found in Petits Pâtés de Nîmes, otherwise made with a pork- and veal-based stuffing contained in a shortcrust pastry, and which also make the city's culinary reputation. The picholine, or Nîmes olive, is long with a fine stone and firm, large, juicy, crunchy flesh, with a characteristic buttery-hazelnut taste. It is harvested green in October. It is used to make top-quality olive oil and delicious tapenades. The gariguette, a local strawberry, can be recognized by its elongated shape and acidity, appreciated by connoisseurs. It arrives early, around mid-March, and is harvested until June.
The Costières, hills covering 10,000 hectares of rolled pebbles, have been home to AOC Costières-de-Nîmes wines since the Romans. Naturally related to the vineyards of the Rhône Valley, their proximity to the Petite Camargue means that the vines face the sea, which is just as important to the appellation. Syrah, Grenache and Mourdève are blended for the reds, while Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Marsanne make up the whites. The rosés are festive, bursting with sunshine in their brilliant color. Closer to the costières, further east, among cypress, olive and apricot trees, are the vines that produce Clairette de Bellegarde. Fine and fruity, single-varietal, transparent in color and very slightly "bubbly", this is an original summer wine and aperitif. In the heart of Nîmes, the Barbaude brewery offers a wide range of organic, unfiltered and unpasteurized craft beers. Raspberry, honey and other local flavors are featured.
Uzège-Pont du Gard and Rhône Valley
The Uzège region's limestone soils and garrigues are ideal for growing truffles - a wild crop, since no one knows how to grow them. This highly sought-after "gem of the poor lands" comes in several varieties, but it's the tuber melanosporum, the black winter truffle, for which the region is famous. From mid-November to mid-March, the harvest period, the region comes alive with markets, tasting dinners and visits to truffle fields, culminating in January with the Truffle Weekend in Uzès. This part of the Gard is otherwise the most Provençal, with its lavender fields and almond trees, and the honey produced here is fragrant. Croquignole d'Uzès is a round cookie made with sweet almonds or hazelnuts, locally one of the thirteen Christmas desserts, or eaten at weddings, christenings or mardi gras. In fact, it's a Chinese praline recipe, brought back by a baker from Nîmes, then developed in Uzès by his successor, to the point of making it one of the town's specialties.
The Rhône Valley immediately brings to mind wine culture and its many vineyards. These include AOC Côtes-du-Rhône, with its light, fruity, easy-drinking wines, and AOC Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages, to which three Gard villages belong: Chusclan, with its fruity, floral rosé; Laudun, with its balanced reds and whites; and Saint-Gervais, with its full-bodied reds and refreshing rosés. The AOC Lirac brings together reds, rosés and whites of equal quality, and nearby is the AOC Tavel, whose rosé is world-renowned for its ability to be kept for three years, revealing the full subtlety of its aromas. In 2013, Uzège winegrowers acquired AOC certification for their Duché d'Uzès wines. The reds and rosés are mainly made from Syrah and Grenache, while the whites are a complex blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne, where almond, dried fruit and floral aromas mingle with white fruit notes.
Cévennes and Cèze Valley
Chestnuts have long been the queen of the region, and are still a feature of most local recipes, such as Cévenole-style pork, served as a stew, sauté or daube. It is also the source of a delicious honey with a distinctive taste found almost exclusively in the Cévennes. Chestnuts, another variety of the chestnut tree, are prized for their sweet products, such as crème de marron and marron glacé. As for meat, lamb and kid are prepared like nowhere else in the region, and pork is also cooked in caillettes. Pélardon, which has been protected by an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) since 2000 to guarantee its origin, is produced exclusively in the Cévennes. After a minimum ripening period of 11 days, it can be eaten young, when its rind is cream-colored. As it matures, it darkens and hardens, developing a pronounced goaty taste. Sweet onions, with their satiny appearance, tender texture and delicate flavor, are equally good raw or cooked. It is celebrated in Le Vigan in autumn, along with the Reinette apple, also grown under Mount Aigoual. As for mushrooms, the cep is adored by Cévenoles, but morels and girolles can also be found in autumn or rainy weather.
Wine production is comparatively less important in this corner of the Gard, but local beers are proliferating. While the flavors of chestnut and honey are often found, the range is much wider. CévennStar offers American Pale Ale, American IPA and White IPA, while La Casa'Bières offers white, amber and lightly bitter Pale Ale. La Bogue is made in Aujac by a beaver farmer. Mine de rien, created in Lozère on the Gard border at Collet-de-Dèze, is extremely popular. The town of Bessèges celebrates the diversity of its hops with a craft beer tasting festival, Gard à la bière.
