The best local producers Midi-Pyrénées

Beekeepers, Bernard and Anne-Lise sell a wide range of products: about fifteen different honeys, gingerbread, mead, wax, honey vinegar... The choice is difficult, especially among the fifteen honeys they offer. From May to August, they organise free open days (the^4th Sunday of each month) which allow visitors to discover the world of bees and the honey house. But the estate is also famous for its wines. So here is a visit that will please more than one person.

The Domaine Castan in Cazouls-lès-Béziers invites you to a unique experience, combining winegrowing tradition and a journey back in time. Descended from a long line of winegrowing families, this estate transports you back to the 19th century with its Emile Vigneron museum. Located in a century-old historic winery between the Cévennes and the Mediterranean, it perpetuates the passion of its founders Monique and André Castan. From vine to glass, our artisan winemakers invite you on a timeless journey of taste and heritage. They offer you a rare opportunity to savor the authenticity of the Languedoc terroir.

Since 2002, the independent winegrower Céline Michelon has been making the Mas de Bayle, a family property of 20 hectares, live. Her Montpellier sandstone or AOC Languedoc vines grow on clay-limestone soils with a Mediterranean climate and its sea breeze. Cinsault, syrah, mourvèdre, grenache, carignan, roussane and vermentino: its local and traditional production now includes a range of six wines - white, rosé and red - each with three grape varieties, thus favoring blends. A gite at the estate is also available.

The vines of the Domaine d'Hondrat benefit from both the sea breeze blowing from the Mediterranean and the wind coming from the north. This wine estate has belonged to the Vigroux family since 1891, and five generations have succeeded one another to reach 80 ha today. The vineyard extends over clay-limestone and gravel soils, part of which is classified as AOP coteaux-du-languedoc and IGP pays-d'oc. The house produces four ranges of wines of three colors, with fresh whites, trendy rosés and fruity reds.

On the edge of the Cévennes, Virginie and Nicolas have taken over the Aux Petits Sabots farm with great care. At the head of a micro-herd in which one or two foals are born each year, the couple uses the milk of the mothers in the production of soaps and cosmetics. The donkeys, which stay a good year with their young, are milked by hand. This fresh milk is mixed with other natural raw materials to produce a finished product: soap, face cream, body milk, shower shampoo with moisturizing and soothing properties.

Véronique and Michel Garcia welcome you to Chez Eliane, a family market garden and tree farm where they sell seasonal fruit and vegetables. You will be able to buy directly on the spot: peaches, apricots, cherries, figs, melons, plums, table grapes, apples, but also asparagus, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, potatoes. Tasting is free and Véronique and Michel can be found on the local markets: Thursdays and Sundays in Mèze, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in Sète and Sunday mornings at the Antigone market in Montpellier.

The 12-hectare Clos Centeilles family estate is a veritable treasure trove of winemaking expertise. With 23 grape varieties planted and 13 cuvées produced, Patricia Boyer-Domergue and her daughter Cécile are committed to preserving forgotten indigenous grape varieties. Their artisanal, hand-crafted approach gives their wines a rare authenticity. A veritable heritage conservatory, Clos Centeilles offers unique flavors that promise to delight even the most demanding palates. Clos Centeilles is a not-to-be-missed discovery for discerning wine lovers.

Eleven generations of winegrowers preceded Isabelle Boulaire, the current owner. In the heart of the garrigue of the Gard, she cultivates 15 hectares of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Cinsault with passion, love and respect for the environment. The result? An excellent Côtes du Rhône and, in particular, a Grand Roc cuvée that leaves no one indifferent! The cellar is open to visitors in summer. More recently, the range has been extended with the cuvée "L'instant Garrigue" and "Coeur d'Arômes" - a blend of clairette and viognier!

For forty years, the Teulier family has watched over this land in the Marcillac valley. A single hectare in 1982; today, some thirty terraced hectares on which solid vines flourish. Philippe and his son Julien produce remarkable wines, thanks to a passion and determination inherited from their forebears. The wines are the expression of their terroir and the reflection of the work of authentic winemakers proud of their grapes. In 2022, a new winery was completed, along with a cultural and educational trail at the heart of the estate.

These craftsmen of the taste are established on the road of the gorges of the Tarn. Catherine and Laurent Deparpe make in their laboratory, jams, syrups and cookies, among which a sweet gram (the beaver almond praline, hazelnuts) and another of aperitifs from local cheeses (Aubrac, Rodez and Roquefort) but also thyme, parmesan. The flour comes from the Trescanous Mill in Aveyron. The syrups are only pasteurized (no coloring or preservatives). The blueberry and lemon jams are a delight.

It is an organic farm where vegetables such as potatoes, leeks, white onions and pumpkins are grown. Aromatic plants are also grown here. Rose, thyme, sage, lavender and rosemary are used in essential oils and flower waters. Since 2003, 10 hectares of olive trees have been planted on the southern slopes of the estate. Its flavours of black olive, Jerusalem artichoke and undergrowth are to be discovered. It is a very nice discovery, full of quality choices!

At the Mouliots farm, nestled in a Savès valley, Isabelle Bossetto and her brother Thierry carry on a four-generation family tradition of raising fattened ducks. The Muscovy ducks spend their days outdoors. They are force-fed with white corn grown on site, and slaughtered and processed on the farm. The store offers a wide range of delicious home-made products: foies gras, confits, fresh or dried duck breasts, cooked dishes, traditional (cassoulets, tajines...) or festive (whole royal duck, duck breast stuffed with foie gras...).

The beekeepers of the territory raise hives to make honeys rich of all the biodiversity of the flowers of the Cevennes National Park. In this honey factory, created in 1937 and passed down from generation to generation, you will find chestnut, callune heather and mountain honeys. Note that the farm, which can be visited free of charge (on Fridays from 10 am to noon in July and August), shows all the stages of production in organic farming, and offers a tasting of the products of the hive. An immersion in the profession of beekeeper.

Of the six children, Luc Pasquiet was the only one who wanted to take over his parents' estate. It must be said that he discovered the olive-growing profession at the same time as they did: he was at secondary school when his parents started olive-growing in the 1980s. While helping them with the harvest, the idea gradually took root. When his parents retired, he took over the olive grove scattered in several parcels around the village, and in particular behind the abbey which is the charm and fame of Lagrasse. That's about 7 hectares of trees, the oldest of which are a hundred years old. While his parents favoured integrated farming, Luc chose to go organic and began converting the estate to the AB label as soon as he arrived in 2013. A year when the fly was particularly bad and his entire harvest was lost. However, Luc Pasquiet is still faithful to his post: on the Lagrasse market on Saturday mornings, but also in his little shop at the foot of the old bridge. There, he offers four single-variety oils in fruity green: olive, a rustic variety typical of the Languedoc, the lucques, with which he also makes table olives, the bouteillan and the picholine. The "cuvée du terroir" is a green fruity made from a blend of what the other cultivated trees produce (aglandau, cailletier, arbequine). As for his olive pastes (without capers or anchovies), he makes them in his workshop and integrates, according to his recipes, the vegetables he grows in his garden.

The La Cavale cooperative, which has just celebrated its centenary, is a reference in the Limoux region in terms of agricultural supplies and plant production. But the cooperative also offers a range of products that delight us, all in an eco-responsible approach: Olisoli olive oils - Le Moulin du Sou, Ardence eau de Vie, a craft beer: Alambiquée and the famous Mint, Tangerine or Lemon Crème Religieuse from the Apéroc range. You will find them in the delicatessens and the Gamm Vert stores of the Haute Vallée de l'Aude.

Maxime has surrounded himself with the greatest ambassadors of the Villefranchois terroir in order to pursue his gastronomic path and create Lou Gaspillou. With his brand, he wishes to celebrate the Aveyron tradition, but also to alert people to the importance of its preservation. In each jar, he lovingly prepares delicious gastronomic specialties made from ugly and neglected fruits and vegetables. In the online store, you will find delicious jams, gazpachos, soups or salted spreads.

Boris, a passionate young market gardener, has a triple objective: to grow healthy, certified organic vegetables and fruit in Sigean, close to the point of sale and accessible to all pocketbooks. A total of 32 species of vegetables are harvested in the field on the 1.5 ha he cultivates in summer and winter. Freshness is guaranteed by the fact that harvesting is followed by direct sale, with no "cold room" stage. Among these vegetables, two varieties are customer favourites: ogen melon and mini watermelons.

Nadège Gosselin is the specialist of Crocus sativus, organic moreover. Put away your smartphones, this variety of crocus is better known as saffron! Every October, the magic happens and the first purple flowers appear: they must be picked one by one by hand before the petals open and the pistil is exposed. The work is not finished because it will be necessary to wait 9 months of maturation. You will discover a multitude of products (jam, beers, infusions...) based on this alicament in the farm store or online.

The GIE Plante Infuse brings together a dozen producers and pickers of aromatic and medicinal plants. This small world has appropriated the mountains and valleys of the Cévennes to cultivate small plots of land, maintained by hand. Mint, Roman camomile, tarragon, marshmallow grow under the benevolent supervision of the farmers, who supplement this production with a wild harvest. The fruit of this harvest is then processed into herbal teas, essential oils, aromatic herbs and plant-based cosmetics.

Welcome to the farm ! Welcome to the house of the lock! On the banks of the Canal du Midi, the Confiturerie de l'Écluse makes delicacies with fruits and vegetables produced and transformed on site according to original recipes. For example, melon jam with cinnamon or watermelon/lemon, onion jam, elderflower, thyme and rosemary. So many sunny flavors of the Aude declined in 25 jams and a dozen jams. Sales also of cassoulets, honeys, wines.

Olivier Galache welcomes you to his beekeeping micro-farm and answers questions you may have about bee products and beekeeping. His passion was passed on to him by his grandfather, and despite the years, it is still intact. Her honeys are delicious, in the height of this passion. You can choose from a beautiful collection: dandelion honey, acacia honey, linden honey, rhododendron honey, callune heather honey, callune heather honey in comb, thousand-flower honey, woodland honey. He also supplies you with pollen from the Hautes Pyrénées.

Since 1999, the Marin family has been farming 1,800 olive trees on 4 hectares of land. The harvest, which can reach 10 tons of fruit in the best years, is taken to the nearby Millas mill. But what really makes the difference with the other producers in the region is the choice of a unique variety... and originating from Spain: the arbequina. Its olive tree gives a small and round fruit, particularly adapted to the production of oil. And, inevitably, the one from the Moucha estate is unlike any other of its closest competitors.

The Minerve mill was the first private mill in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The owners of the place, the brothers Charles and Pierre De Benedittis, taking over from their father, opened it in 2005 in order to press the olives from their 8 hectares. The olives are organically grown and come mainly from seven varieties. The resulting oils are all organic and monovarietal, fruity green, with a medium and light taste (except for the more fiery Picholine) as well as some Italian varieties, frantoio....

Fabienne will explain everything about this tropical seaweed, from its cultivation to its drying, and will even open the doors of her laboratory to you. Shaped into spaghetti, it is best known in its dried form but tasting it fresh is a surprise! Its small salty taste adapts to the most original recipes and trust the pro, she will share with you the best ones! A great outing, original and instructive, to familiarize yourself with one of the key foods of tomorrow.

The Beaufort mill has been producing olive oil since 2003. The olives are harvested by hand. The different varieties (grossannes, lucques, bouteillans, négrettes, picholines) blended together give the oil its distinctive character. Other producers can bring their own olives (minimum 100 kg) and leave with their own production. The crushed pits release an antioxidant that preserves the unfiltered, first cold-pressed oil. Home delivery and personalized labels available.

Maison Sudreau is well known for its store in Cahors, but it is also present in the village of Saint-Pierre-Lafeuille, where it is produced. Here, you'll find the full range of Sudreau products (confits, foies gras, truffle products, cassoulets, terrines, pâtés, pork anchovies, magrets and other delicacies...). To complete the already tempting range, you'll find a selection of Cahors aperitifs and wines, as well as walnut-based confectionery from the Desgourmets house in Puy-l'Évêque and the Maison de la noix in Rocamadour.

Claude is a producer based near Decazeville. Together with his parents, he looks after the only hazelnut grove in the Aveyron department: 12 hectares and 6,500 trees! Together, they transform the fruits of their hazelnut trees in a laboratory installed on the farm. Chouchous, oil, flour and shelled hazelnuts are sold in local grocery stores and online. Claude, passionate about his work, also offers tours of his hazelnut grove and presents the production cycle. The discovery always ends on a gourmet note, with a tasting.

Bronze medalist for the first time in 2015 at the Salon de l'Agriculture, for his semi-cooked foie gras, Serge Barras, is a specialist in the field. Raised in the open air in Bournazel, his mulard ducks are fed on GMO-free feed, with respect for the product. The shop offers tastings and invites you to discover foie gras, cassoulet, duck confit, stuffed neck and some new products such as persillade of gizzards or duck tapenade. A sure value!

Located in the Cérou valley, near Cordes-sur-Ciel, Le Terroir du Père Barras is a foie gras producer with an emphasis on tradition and quality. Their activities include the traditional force-feeding of ducks and the artisanal processing of foie gras. Le Terroir du Père Barras also offers a drive-through service for those who prefer to collect their purchases without entering the store. With their commitment to tradition and quality, Le Terroir du Père Barras is a must-stop for foie gras lovers in the region.

Sarrant, a small village in the heart of the Gers region of France, is home to the "Au Village" online store. This store is a must for visitors wishing to discover the traditional specialties of the South-West and the region's rich gastronomic heritage. Since 1974, Au Village has been committed to promoting the gastronomic heritage of the South-West by shipping the finest local produce. They offer a wide selection of delicious local products and dishes prepared according to local know-how. Specialties include foie gras, cassoulet, duck confit, Landes black pudding and desserts from the South-West. Au Village works with local businesses and artisans to guarantee the quality of their products. They deliver to your home or workplace, and offer secure payment by credit card.

Cahors, a town in southwest France, is renowned for its quality wines. The bar offers a selection of wines from various passionate producers in the region. Cahors wines are known for their power and complexity, but also for their elegance when crafted by true artisans. Les Petits Producteurs also offers the possibility of tasting meals on site or buying wines to take away.

In the Baby-Raynaud family, there is the son, Romain, who takes care of the farm, the mother, Monique, who elaborates all the recipes, always looking for new flavors and taste associations, and finally the father, Marc, a fine gourmet, who does not hesitate to give a hand. The family manages the Cigales du Rec estate where trees of the aglandau, olive, verdale de l'Hérault, bouteillan, lucques, picholines and frantoio varieties grow. All their olive oils are single variety, fruity green and fruity black.

Le Marché au Naturel is a short-circuit specialist located in Preixan. They offer a selection of regional products from artisans and agricultural producers from the Languedoc and Occitanie regions. The market offers a variety of food and gourmet products. For more information, please contact Le Marché au Naturel directly.

FRED Producteur is a market gardener offering a selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables. FRED Producteur focuses on the quality of its produce, giving preference to local producers and using organic growing methods. Their farm covers some 60 hectares of open fields and 3 hectares of unheated greenhouses. In addition to Le Crès, they also have sales outlets in Calvisson, Lunel Viel and Mauguio, although these are closed during the winter.

Le temps des confitures is a jam manufacturer located in Montpellier. They offer a wide range of homemade jams made with seasonal fruit. Their products include semi-seeded blackberry, citrus, bitter orange, orange, Corsican clementine, citron, mirabelle, apricot and strawberry rhubarb jams. They also offer a special Mariguette strawberry jam called "L'Impériale".

L'Aura des Champs is a member of the Boutiques Paysannes network. Direct sales of farm products from a selection of twenty farmers who offer you products grown and prepared on their farms and in their workshops. They work with respect for the land and animals. Products: breads, pâtés, syrups, fruit and vegetables, meats, honeys, cheeses, plants, preserves, jams, eggs... Quality food that promotes local agriculture and short supply chains! A beautiful store with a wide choice, and a very friendly welcome!

Foie Gras Larrieu Pierre-Laurent SARL Caillaou is a delicatessen specializing in foie gras. Customers can store in-store. The store accepts payment by credit card (CB/Visa/Mastercard) and cash. It offers a selection of dry grocery products as well as fruit and vegetables. For lovers of foie gras, this is an address not to be missed on a visit to Dému.

Les Ruchers du Tigou is a farm store offering a wide range of beekeeping products. Visitors can find honey of different varieties, such as all-flower honey, acacia honey, chestnut honey, forest honey, Pyrenean honey, linden honey, Montagne Noire honey, buckwheat honey and Gavarnie honey. The store also offers honey-based pastries and confectionery, such as gingerbread, nougats and spreads. Customers can also buy fresh royal jelly, propolis and pollen.