Coteaux du Pont du Gard is an IGP title covering wines from an area of the Gard department of southern France, at the meeting point of the Languedoc, Rhone and Provence wine regions. The catchment area of the IGP stretches along the western edge of the Rhone river, and also covers a significant amount of the plains to the south of Nimes. The Coteaux du Pont Du Gard IGP jostles for space with the more famous vineyards of the Costieres de Nimes AOC appellation.
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The denomination is named for the famous Pont du Gard aqueduct which was constructed by the Romans in the 1st Century to bring water from a spring in the mountains to Nimes. It was around this time that the first vineyards in the region were planted, and viticulture has been a steady presence since.
Though the IGP’s delimited area is rather large, the climate is fairly uniform and can be broadly described as Mediterranean. Mild winters are followed by long, hot summers with very low rainfall. The Mistral wind from the northwest brings cooling influences, although its collision with lighter, warmer winds from the Mediterranean can cause sudden, heavy rain storms, particularly in autumn. Well-drained, sandy limestone soils help to mitigate the negative effects from this.
As in many of the IGPs that cover land in southern France, Coteaux du Pont du Gard IGP wines are made up of traditional Mediterranean grape varieties like Grenache and Mourvedre, as well as the more internationally-recognized favorites Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. Though the wines produced in this part of France are typically blends, varietally labeled wines are becoming more common as trends change.
The Coteaux du Pont du Gard IGP was known as Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Pont Du Gard until 2009, when Indication Géographique Protégée began to appear on labels instead. This change was implemented by the French government in order to throw off some of the poor consumer image associated with the Vin de Pays designation, while bringing French labeling conventions closer to those of the European Union.
