La cave historique de Maraussan
Cooperative winery OF THE VIGNERONS
DU PAYS
D’ENSÉRUNE
PIONEERS OF WINE PRODUCTION COOPERATION
The cooperative winery in Maraussan was the first
of its kind in France in 1901.
Their wines are
of high quality
and innovative
GLOSSARY
Foudre
Cask Large-capacity barrel for wine-making
or ageing (between 10 and 200 hectolitres or
more) in oak or chestnut.
VPE - Vignerons du Pays d’Ensérune
Grouping the municipalities of Cazouls les
Béziers, Maraussan, Maureilhan, Nissan lez Ensé-
rune, Montady, Capestang, Puisserguier, Poilhes,
Cazedarnes and Lespignan
From its creation, its aim was to find the
means needed to create an independent
sales network for wine merchants. A
cooperative member rented a shop, five
casks and a pump were lent to them
by property managers and for the first
meetings of the board, a table was
borrowed from a neighbour and each
member brought their own chair. Thanks
to their desire for independence, the
winegrowers of Maraussan soon learnt
the lessons of modern marketing.
It was absolutely necessary for them to
organise their sales, know their clients,
adapt to them and determine quality
criteria for their products. They also
perfectly understood the context in which
this new project needed to be developed.
Thanks to the railways, which gave them
access to the Paris market, they were
already selling 8 times more in Paris than
in the rest of France after only 4 years.
Later, they bought cask-wagons and
installed a winemaking cellar near
Maraussan station, which no longer
exists today. During his visit in 1905, Jean
Jaurès was impressed by this cooperative
movement and even purchased a share.
The members of the cooperative today are
still as inventive and innovative as always,
the worthy heirs of their ancestors. They
are facing the future by planting resistant
grape varieties. The principle of equality
lies at the heart of this organisation, with
one man one vote and the same power for
all, regardless of the size of their property.
39
It’s true that 600 cooperative members
putting their heads together is a rich
resource in itself. They also introduced
new varieties like Marsanne, Malbec and
Marselan.
“The latter owes it originality to the
cross between Cabernet Sauvigon and
Grenache Noir. This yields a complex
wine, full of colour, aromatic and rich in
supple and harmonious tannins”, explains
Xavier Landes. In addition to his role as
administrator for the cellar, he is also
President of the IGP Coteaux d’Ensérune
Syndicate, and his favourite vintage is
from the “Ensédune” range, made with the
famous Marselan grape variety.
Things are going well at VPE and Xavier
hopes soon to resume the walks in the
vineyards and share his passion with
visitors. The cooperative members want
to develop a programme of events to help
people discover their wines and know-
how.
This shows the desire of the winegrowers
of the Pays d’Ensérune for sharing and
conviviality.
2 WINERY SHOPS
ROUTE DE NARBONNE – 34440 NISSAN-LEZ-ENSÉRUNE
04 67 37 00 31
55 AV JEAN JAURÈS - 34370 CAZOULS LÈS BÉZIERS
04 67 93 89 21
AVENUE DE BÉZIERS - 34310 CAPESTANG – 04 67 93 30 11
Open year round., from Tuesday to Saturday
vignerons-enserune.fr
Les Vignerons du Pays d’Ensérune
FOR
OENOLOGISTS
To conserve an uncorked bottle wit-
hout harming the quality of the wine
too much, store it in the fridge after
properly re-corking it. But be careful -
only for a few days! You can also use a
vacuum pump, which are inexpensive
and easy to use, to conserve it for a few
more days.