The South of France wouldn’t be the same without the wonderful views of vineyards and olive trees! During your French language stay in Montpellier when here to learn French, you can benefit from great experiences by taking part in different cultural activities and excursions organised by our French immersion school in Montpellier. One activity will take you through typical landscapes in the region of vineyards and olive trees. This is a really nice way to complete your French language immersion stay in Montpellier!
Languedoc wine, Grés de Montpellier, wine estates, wine workshops, wine bars, wine merchants and excursions… Montpellier is all of that too! Montpellier is in fact the capital of the first wine region in the world with nearly 33 per cent of the French production covering a surface area of approximately 300,000 ha. An ideal destination to discover French vineyards during French language courses in Montpellier. The vineyards are spread from the “moyenne” valley of the Hérault region to the Vidourle, the southern boundary being the Mediterranean coast and the northern boundary the “Saint Loup” mountain peak!
If you learn French with us in the South of France, you will improve your French whilst also having fun French wine tasting, visiting vineyards as well as numerous wine caves in the region.
During this excursion, you will leave Montpellier for wine tasting in the “Saint-Loup” peak wine estate. This day out placed under the sign of the sun will take you to the lands of the South of France to discover the French culture of wine and olives. First, you will go off to a wine estate in the “Haut Lirou”, a wine estate located in a small typical village from the North region of Montpellier, at Saint-Jean-de-Cuculles.
As you stroll around one of the vineyards, you will learn about how the wine is made and the history of the estate. On the 17 hectares of land where both young and old vines grow side by side, there are traditional grape varieties such as “Grenache” or “Syrah” but also other more recent ones like “Chardonnay or “Merlot”.
During the wine tasting, you will explore different types of French wine visually and you will of course be able to smell and taste them; you will be given vocabulary for describing each step of the wine tasting process before getting the chance to buy souvenirs as you leave the estate at the end of the visit!
The excursion will continue at the “Olivie” estate. “L’oliveraie” (the olive grove) is an orchard with olive trees that are used for producing olives for French olive oil. During your visit, the different stages in olive oil production will be explained to you from harvesting right through to bottling. You will know everything there is to know about olives!
After this presentation, you will get to try some of the products from the estate and experiment with new tastes, an experience that you will never forget! You will get to see different French olive oils with the famous “Picholine”, “tapenades” (fine olive paste) as well as vinegar that have been elaborated on the estate, without forgetting cosmetics and soaps made using olive oil. This is a great place to buy souvenirs during your French language stay in Montpellier.
Your residential French course will be a real joy if you make the most of classes in our French language school as well as excursions and cultural toursim for exploring the wonders of the South of France! You will have a great time studying French in France and enjoying yourself under the Mediterranean sun.