Powerful bargains to be found in a sea of so-so wine. This large region in the southwest always struggled with the reputation of producing bulk wine. But the terroir here is great, with many vineyards based on limestone and the sunny French Riviera climate making the wines a bit more powerful. Many interesting projects have popped up in the last decade, producing wines that can be rather inexpensive for what you get in the glass. But you have to taste a fair amount of them to find one that’s good. The appellations of Minervois, Faugères, Saint-Chinian, and Corbières
