Local specialties
The olive oil
For a long time, the department was the leading producer of olive oil in France, but wine growing took over after the frost of 1956. After many years of neglect, olive growing has been revived since the 1990s and the trend continues to grow. In the Pyrénées-Orientales, there is a great diversity of varieties. Picking is done by hand and many olive growers open their fields to showcase their ancestral know-howThe cargols
When we talk about Catalan cuisine, we cannot ignore the "petit gris" snail which has a very special place in our gastronomy. Grilled or in a creamy, spicy sauce, these gastropods hold a special place in the hearts of CatalansThe anchovies
Collioure has been famous for its anchovy speciality since the Middle Ages. Collioure anchovies have been awarded a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) label since 2004. In the two production workshops that still operate in the traditional way (Roque and Desclaux), the anchovies are salted by hand, then headed, gutted and placed in barrels of brine for at least a hundred days to obtain a fine, delicate, melting and dark red-brown flesh with an incomparable aroma and taste. They are then packaged, in salt, brine or olive oil, in glass jars.Local products
Meat and charcuterie
Our specific territory, strongly influenced by the relief, makes it possible to practice the transhumance of the herds and to develop the production of meat based on grass and plants. Labels such as Tirabuxo pork, Rosé des Pyrénées or Vedell veal, and "Xai" Catalan lamb are the pride of the Catalans and the delight of gourmets.Catalan charcuterie is traditionally made in the mountains, particularly in the Cerdanya. It plays a very important role in local gastronomy and delicacies. Dried mountain hams and tasty pâtés, sausages and black puddings still have their place on the region's tables. For a Catalan, it is unthinkable to make a cargolade (snails grilled on an ember of vine shoots) without a nice swirl of sausage and a few blood sausages also being grilled. Of course, as a starter, a nice slice of pâté, also Catalan, another of carn de perol (a kind of pork snout terrine), a few slices of dry sausage and pieces of fuet (dried Catalan sausage) will be served. Life is good!
Cheese and dairy products
Ewe, goat and cow breeders benefit from the variety of landscapes (coastline, plain, piedmont and mountains) which give the milk the typical flavours found in Pyrenean cheeses. The production is always artisanal or organic and is done on the farm or in the sheepfold. Cheeses made from cow's or sheep's milk come mainly from mountainous areas (Cerdagne, Capcir, Haut-Conflent, Haut-Vallespir), their distribution is rather confidential, so they are mainly found on markets or, of course, directly from the producer. Goats are tougher, so they are raised all over the department and there are a large number of producers. Fresh, dry, plain, ashy or with dried fruit, goat cheeses are plentiful. For a real taste of Catalonia, let yourself be tempted by mel i mató. Made from cow's, sheep's or goat's milk, this small jar of creamy, ultra-fresh cheese (mató), generously topped with local honey (mel), is in itself an ode to the Catalan art of livingFruit and vegetables
Market gardening and fruit growing are a tradition in the department, which is bathed in over 300 days of sunshine. The plain of Roussillon and its alluvial deposits lend themselves wonderfully to these crops which need water and sun. The most beautiful orchard and vegetable garden in France invites you, depending on the season, to taste the artichoke of the Salanque, the "carxofa", the early Roussillon potato "Bea du Roussillon", the red onion of Toulouges, the peach and nectarine or the apples of the Rotja valley. Finally, the most famous and world-famous are the cherries of Céret (the first two boxes of which are harvested and sent to the Elysée Palace every year) and the red apricot of Roussillon AOC.The sweets
In the Catalan region, the love of good things is not a legend, and in fact, a good Catalan meal cannot end without a delicious sweet note, or even several...
At the top of the list are:
Crema cremada
(burnt Catalan cream): known worldwide for some years now, more specifically as Crema Catalana, this is a creamy aniseed flavoured cream with delicate touches of cinnamon and lemon peel, covered with a thin, crisp layer of caramel. Its flavour is enhanced by a small glass of old muscatel or amber rivesaltes.The rousquille: Proust had his madeleine, every Catalan has his rousquille or rosquille! It is a small ring of melting pastry with aniseed and citrus aromas, covered with a delicate layer of icing sugar. A must-taste to touch the Catalan soul, but please, choose the artisanal one!
The wines of Roussillon
The amphitheatre of the Catalan country is occupied on the fertile alluvial deposits of the Roussillon plain by market gardening and in the lower valleys of the Têt and Tech by orchards. As for the vine, it flourishes on the hills and slopes of the Aspres and Fenouillèdes, on the foothills of the Albères, Corbières and Canigó mountain ranges, and finally it clings to the last impetus of the Pyrenees towards the sea on the Côte Vermeille.
The vine is an "all-terrain" plant that flourishes on poor, arid soils because of its deep, penetrating roots. The poverty of the soils in the Catalan region can become the glory of the winegrower because the vine, in its "suffering", offers, due to the low yields (much lower than the national average), a great maturity and a richness in sugar. We can add that no other vineyard in France is so favoured by such a long period of heat and light, as many of the southern slopes or soulanes enjoy perfect sunshine thanks to their degree of slope or their exposure.
It is clear that the Roussillon vineyard is characterised by the extreme variety of its relief, its soils, its climate and the diversity of its grape varieties in a restricted geographical area which creates a landscape marquetry that is unique in France and in the world. This tiny territory on a global scale offers winegrowers a range of terroirs from the three great geological eras!
From a pedological point of view, in the area where the vines are planted (in the foothills and in the basins), we find clay-limestone soils, clay-silt soils, stony soils, black schist, brown schist, granitic arenas and gneiss. It is this natural richness that has allowed 25 white and black grape varieties to be planted, giving unique and typical wines.
The production
The department has 2,200 vineyards, 360 private cellars and 29 cooperative cellars (which provide 75% of the production). In Roussillon, the vines, which still covered some 70,000 ha in the 1960s, now represent 21,000 ha, 85% of which are classified. The departmental production is 690 000 hl. The Pyrénées Orientales is now the 9th largest wine-producing department in France, with 2% of the national production in volume, including 80% of France's natural sweet wines.
With 14 AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) and 3 IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée), the wines of Roussillon are very rich, both fruity and full-bodied, each one expressing a particular character, inspired by the land, the climate and the winemaker.
The AOC appellations for dry wines:
- Collioure
- Côtes du Roussillon
- Côtes du Roussillon Villages
- Côtes du Roussillon Villages Caramany
- Côtes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France
- Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres
- Côtes du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde
- Côtes du Roussillon Villages Tautavel
- Maury Sec
The AOC appellations in Vins Doux Naturels:
- Banyuls
- Banyuls Grand Cru
- Maury
- Muscat de Rivesaltes
- Rivesaltes
IGP in dry wines:
- Côtes Catalanes
- Côte Vermeille
- Pays d'OC
Among the 25 grape varieties commonly used in Roussillon, here are the most common and emblematic of the Côtes du Roussillon:
White and grey grape varieties: Grenache blanc, Grenache gris, Macabeu, Muscat à petits grains and Muscat d'Alexandrie.
Black grape varieties: Carignan noir, Grenache noir, Lledoner pelut, Mourvèdre, Syrah.
Vinification and maturation
Dry wines
Between modernity and tradition, the winegrowers have adapted new technologies to their know-how to enhance the white, rosé and red wines of their different terroirs. Today, temperature controls for vinification and maturation are omnipresent.Red wines are matured for an average of two years. Traditionally, it corresponds to a maturation of the wine in full vats before bottling. For certain more concentrated vintages, the wine is aged in wood, in barrels or demi-muids
Natural Sweet Wines
The mutage process stops the action of the yeasts before they have been able to transform all the sugar into alcohol. This is how the Vins Doux Naturels retain some of the natural sweetness contained in the fruit. The Vins Doux Naturels Ambrés and Tuilés are aged in contact with the air, generally in wood or in vats, from 36 months to sometimes more than 20 years...
