This is Fronton !!!

Posted in Europe, Food and Wine, France

I have come to Fronton , especially for its wines ! As said, it is a tradition in my house and makes it a good reason to come here, I like to dwell again into one of my favorite wine towns,and wine ,as it is traditional the wine of all Toulousains ! Therefore, here is my take on this is Fronton !!! Hope you enjoy it as I,

The town of Fronton is located in the Haute-Garonne department, no, 31 in the Occitanie region of my belle France. The town borders the Tarn-et-Garonne department no 82. Fronton is renowned for its wine. In fact, the town’s landscapes are mainly made up of fields and vineyards. It is 28 km from Toulouse, 20 km from Montauban, 638 km from Versailles, and 705 km from my current home. The A62 autoroute, which connects Toulouse to Bordeaux, runs through the town. It is accessible via exit/sortie 10.1, located in the town of Villeneuve-lès-Bouloc, south of the town, about 10 km from Fronton. The town is also the starting point of the D4 road, connecting Fronton to the towns of Bouloc, Saint-Sauveur, Bruguières, Saint-Alban and Aucamville. The road ends in Toulouse, at the Barrière de Paris metro station. It, also, starts the D47 road, connecting Nohic to Grisolles, and the D29 road, connecting Villemur-sur-Tarn to Laréole via Grenada.

Fronton is one of the oldest vineyards. It was the Romans who planted the first vines on the land overlooking the Tarn Valley. The town’s deed of donation to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1122 mentions the presence of a vineyard for the first time. The Négrette, which today is the vineyard’s originality, is said to have been brought back from Cyprus by the knights on their return from the Crusades. It was not until the 18C that the vineyard developed, reaching its peak in the 19C. Indeed, the protectionism enjoyed by Gironde wines ended and Fronton wines could be exported via Bordeaux. Barges loaded the wine on the Tarn towards the west from Villemur. In the 19C, three-quarters of the arable land was planted with vines. The vineyard was severely affected by two crises: phylloxera by the end of the 19C, and overproduction in 1907. The 20C saw its recognition. The Fronton vineyard obtained its letters of nobility by gaining A.O.C. status in 1975 (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée), today AOP ( Appellation d’Origine Protégée).

I like to put here some of my latest bottles from Château Baudare in Campsas, Château Laurou in Fronton also own by Lionel Osmin & Cie, and the Domaine Don Quichotte Le Roc in Fronton.

In the Southwest of France, between the Tarn and the Garonne,rivers the Fronton vineyard extends over 9 towns/villages in the Haute-Garonne department no 31 and 11 in the Tarn-et-Garonne department no 82 around the authentic town of Fronton. In this small appellation area of ​​barely 2,400 hectares, the terroir offers you heartfelt wines of which the people of Toulouse are the first ambassadors. Among the forty independent winemakers of the appellation, around ten have chosen organic farming. But beyond the organic label, all, independent or cooperative, practice sustainable agriculture by controlling inputs as best as possible. Moreover, the specifications of the AOP Fronton precisely define the production conditions. The yields (50 hl/ha for reds, 55 hl/ha for rosés) are among the lowest in the Southwest; this reflects a perpetual quest for quality. The Fronton AOP sector includes a cooperative winery (bringing together around a hundred cooperative winegrowers) and 40 private wineries, Average annual production is 60,000 hectoliters, of which 65% are red wines and 35% are rosé wines. The main grape variety is Négrette, which represents 50% of the total. This local grape variety produces elegant, structured, and aromatic wines. They are characterized by notes of black fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry), flowers (violet, peony), and spices (licorice, pepper). The secondary grape varieties are: Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Côt (also called Malbec in Cahors), and Fer Servadou (also called Braucol in Gaillac). 85% of the production is sold in France, 15% for export. Led by the Wine Syndicate and the Interprofessional Association, and supported by the General Councils of Haute-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne, a wine route was created in 2009: around forty winegrowers have agreed to regularly open their doors to visitors. In total, more than 200 signs mark this signposted walk to discover the private wineries and the coop Vinovalie winery.

Other things to see here , me think are the Church Notre Dame of the Assumption, and the château Capdeville, now the wine and tourism center at 140 Allé du Château

A bit of history tell us that in 1122, local lords donated a vast estate to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem to establish a town. In 1119, Pope Calixtus II, traveling from Toulouse to Montauban, consecrated the church. In 1632, Louis XIII stayed there. He attended the All Saints’ Day mass and laid hands on 400 people suffering from scrofula (a skin disease), who hoped for a miraculous cure. The life of Fronton was marked by the Wars of Religion, the passage and stays of troops, the weather, the plague and, exceptionally, the visit of this or that important personage: Philip the Fair, Charles IX, his cousin the future Henry IV, and Louis XIII. In the 16C, the importance of Fronton decreased because the attacks of the Protestants were fatal. The Wars of Religion were latent there until 1628. The vineyard was the property of the Hospitallers of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The Order built the village around the Church of Saint John the Baptist, built on the site of the current church. Pious donations poured in and the Order created a commandery headed by a commander. In 1400, the commandery came under the direct jurisdiction of the Grand Priory of Toulouse. Finally, at the beginning of the 20C, at No, 41 rue Bersac, the writer Jules Ielh, lover of Marguerite Audoux, enjoyed welcoming his friends André Gide and Alain Fournier.

The town of Fronton on its history/heritage : https://www.mairie-fronton.fr/ma-ville/decouvrir-fronton/histoire-et-patrimoine/

The Wines of Fronton : https://vins-de-fronton.com/en/

The Haute Garonne dept 31 tourist office on the wines of Fronton : https://www.hautegaronnetourism.com/real-emotions/get-a-taste-of-the-haute-garonne/vineyards/

There you go folks, a wonderful town of my belle France. The Fronton wines are dear to my family, and we have spent quite a bit of time in it from several years already even from before settling in France , A town worth the detour , me think, Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Fronton !!! as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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