Between the garrigue and the Mediterranean

The Pinet Wine-farmers were Ormarine's predecessors in the vinification and commercialisation of Picpoul de Pinet. The wine is made from a grape that is recognised as producing premium quality wines. It was originally called Piquant-Paul, then Picapulla, and then Piquepouille, and is know today as Piquepoul. The Ormarine Winery wine-growing area is on a unique site only a few yards from the Mediterranean and backed by the garrigue that the writer, Joseph Delteil so aptly describes: : "a system of hot little hills… burning hot, intimate, peopled with pale coloured stones… where a small patch of vines occasionally points its green nose… (while) a long line of almond trees comes down to the stream to drink."

Pinet is a municipality in Hérault County with a population of 950, some six miles from the town of Agde and the coast and six miles from the town of Pézenas.
Facing the sea, it is in the historically very ancient wine-growing area where the grape was originally found and where it won its spurs, thus entitling it to the name Picpoul de Pinet that has since become its appellation.

Ormarine Winery's vineyards cover roughly 2150 acres, with some 940 acres planted with its unique white AOC grape variety, the Piquepoul. The AOC area itself was established after a detailed, parcel by parcel examination by INAO, the vines being limited to a maximum yield of 60 hl/ha.

Other grape varieties include reasonable amounts of Terret Bourret, Carignan and black and white Grenache, and smaller amounts of Chardonnay, Roussane, Syrah, Merlot and Cinsault for the red wines, and Chazan and Sauvignon for the whites.

The wine-growing area consists mainly of chalky clay plateaux, rich in Cretaceous limestone and loaded with quartz gravel chippings. To the North, the vineyards are dominated by limestone hills that date from the Jurassic Period. The vineyards lie to the North of Thau Lake and slope towards it. They are at an average of 130 ft above sea level.

C l i m a te

The Mediterranean-type climate in the area has a lower rainfall and higher temperatures than the average (13.5°C) Temperatures rise fast in spring, ensuring early bud burst and a low risk of late spring frost.
The nearness of Thau Lake and the Mediterranean helps limit the daily changes in temperature. Winter is fairly dry, and little rain falls in spring. Summer rainfall is also well below average, most of the rain falling in the autumn.
The main winds in the appellation area are the Marin (the sea wind), the Tramontane (the wind off the mountains), and the Mistral, the North Wind. They play an important role in the excellent health of the vines and grapes.