Gard is the IGP title for wines made in the administrative department of Gard, on the Mediterranean coast of France. The denomination is one of the most-used departmental IGPs in southern France, along with Aude and Pays d’Herault. The AOC-level appellations of Costieres de Nimes, Tavel and Lirac are also found in the department, as well as a part of the Cotes du Rhone Villages appellation.
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The department is somewhat transitional in southern French viticulture, as it marks the border between Provence, Languedoc and the vineyards of the Rhone Valley. The Rhone river demarcates the eastern border of Gard, and the Massif Central lies to the north. Bouches-du-Rhone and Herault are south of the department, along with a tiny stretch of Mediterranean coast.
Gard’s terrain can be divided roughly into three: the Cevennes mountains, the scrubby, garrigue-covered foothills of these mountains and the coastal plain south of Nimes. Broadly speaking, the climate is Mediterranean, but the topographical differences offer some climatic variation. While the southern stretches of the department are hot and dry during the growing season, the mountains are prone to heavy rainfall, caused by the collision of cold winds from central France and warmer breezes from the sea.
While Gard IGP wines may be made from a large list of grape varieties, most are made from classic Mediterranean blends, which may include Grenache, Syrah, Carignan or Mourvedre. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are also used by growers, along with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for the whites. Rosé also makes up a sizeable chunk of Gard IGP wines, betraying the department’s location on the edge of Provence.
Regional wines made in the department were once classified as Vin de Pays du Gard, or one of the other, more specific VDP titles in the department (such as Cevennes). However, the Vin de Pays category has been phased out of French wine law, to be replaced with Indication Géographique Protégée. This classification more closely resembles the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) category of European Union wine law.
