The stars of daytime soap operas and New York news broadcast came out from behind the cameras on Monday, October 19, to lend a hand to benefit the Center for Hearing and Communication in cooperation with Wine Spectator magazine. Sud de France (Languedoc-Roussillon) region wines were the exclusive wines poured at four stations throughout the event, which took place at the Lighthouse on Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. The Hudson River at sundown was the beautiful backdrop to this worthwhile charity event, which had 800 attendees. 

The wines included Arrogant Frog’s Lily Pad White and Red, Croak Rotie, and Pinot Noir; L’Ostal Cazes La Liviniere and Estibals; as well as Fortant’s Malbec, Cabernet and Chardonnay. These wines had many good food pairing opportunities among the fantastic participating restaurants including Felidia, The Red Cat, Butter, Fulton and Buddakan. Among the many who enjoyed the Sud de France wines offered, Elaine Huie, wife of WNYW-TV reporter Ti-Hua Chang, raved about L’Ostal Cazes, a Syrah/Carignan/Grenache blend from Languedoc.

For the charity’s silent auction, Sud de France created a generous gift basket filled with Languedoc-Roussillon wines as well as olive oil, olives and tapenade from the region. 

With a name like Discovery, this Lower East Side shop has a mission – show consumers something different, and offer only the best quality and value.  No other region could have fit such a task as well as the Languedoc-Roussillon, and it showed as Discovery on October 17^th, as the shop chose to host consumers for a monster tasting of 17 different wines from the region!  With only a handful over $25, consumers certainly had a lot do Discover about the Sud de France.  Shoppers tasted through the vast selection, and were able to experience the amazing range found from this wonderful wine region in France.  

Despite the gloomy weather on the rainy night of October 15^th in Brooklyn, consumers stopping in to Thirst Wine Merchants were able to take a quick trip to the Mediterranean with the wines of Sud de France.  Wines poured included a rosé with a cult-like following, Mas Champart Rose 2008 from St-Chinian, Maxime Magnon’s les Demarrante 2008, a light red Vin de Pays from Corbieres, a fan-favorite Domaine Rimbert Travers de Marceau 2007 from St-Chinian, and an earthier, full bodied biodynamic from Domaine Leon Barral, the Faugeres Rouges 2006, one of the best-loved wines of Thirst’s employees.  Customers were attracted to the fruit forward, spicy red from Domaine Rimbert, a perfect selection for a cold October night and a great value at only $16.  While Thirst featured some of their favorites of the Languedoc-Roussillon, the store offered many other selections from the Sud de France as well.

October 10^th, a crowd gathered in Harlem Vintage on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, to taste a number of wines from the Sud de France, the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Owner Jai Jai Greenfield mad five selections from her store’s wide stock of selections from the region, including Gaujal de Saint Bon’s Picpoul de Pinet 2008, a white wine with the ideal minerality for oysters, Dom Faillenc’s Corbieres 2008, St. Felix 2008 vin de pays Chardonnay/Sauvignon blend, Mas Amiel Cotes de Roussillon 2007 and Domaine Sailles vin de pays 2007. And the tasting didn’t stop there! With their purchase reciept, customers could stop in at Jai Jai’s modern, casual wine bar next door, Nectar, for a free glass of wine from their well-curated wine list, the perfect accompaniment to tasty dishes such as dates stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped in speck and lamb meatballs.