Oenorando® Vignes & clochers

The starting point is at the foot of the Lislois hills, winding through the vineyards and highlighting the local heritage: you’ll encounter the Montaigut Chapel, which offers a beautiful panorama, the charming hamlet of Saint-Salvy de Coutens, and the Châ

The cultivation of vineyards, although not predominant in agricultural operations before the 19th century, has shaped the architecture of the Gaillac region: castels and mansions reflect the social status of wine producers and merchants. In hamlets and farms, you’ll find wine presses, fermentation vats (“tinal”), cellars, dovecotes, vine huts, sheds for vehicles and tools, and barns for draft animals. Additionally, infrastructure for transporting barrels (ports, quays, fords, roads) has shaped the landscape since Roman times.

Dovecotes have dotted the vineyards since the Renaissance. Their elegant architecture showcased the owner’s wealth. Pigeons were raised for their meat and their droppings (the precious "colombine"), the only fertilizer allowed to enrich the vines without altering the taste of the wine.

For modest farms, the dovecote was simply holes and a flight platform integrated into one of the farm buildings.

During the Revolution, many dovecotes, symbols of nobility, were destroyed. But in the 19th century, with the significant development of Gaillac wines, their characteristic silhouettes reappeared in the vineyards.

Land of bastides and vineyards, rugby and gastronomy, dynamic and warm, full of conviviality and joy of life, the Gaillac region is a must-visit tourist destination where wines play a prominent role.