I must be honest; I had no idea this wine production area existed before two weeks ago. The area surrounding Marmande is known more for growing vegetables, especially tomatoes than grapevines. Elian Da Ros is a trailblazer and his Côtes du Marmandais makes a compelling argument for more attention to this region. As a child he watched as his father and grandfather grew grapes and sold them to the local cooperative winery and knew
If you were to hop in a time machine and travel twenty years in the past to your favorite wine shop (we understand, we were not open yet) to buy a French Chardonnay that did not come from Burgundy, you might have been overwhelmed by the selection of Pays d’Oc varietal labeled wines. Today there are some brands still in existence, but their market presence is limited and the broad appeal that once lived