Fetes and Festivals happen all year round so remember to ask when booking!

Because this area is near Spain, there exists a wonderful blend of both French and Spanish cultures. The people are warm and friendly, the food and wine delicious. There always is a market or festival in a nearby village.

Apart from the wine tasting, there are many sites of interest, like the city of Minerve, once the capital of Minervois. Carcassonne, a walled-in medieval city, Narbonne a great place for shopping,or relaxing by the Canal du Midi, or hire a boat!

In Olonzac, there are several Café Bars and Restaurants to choose from, as well as Pizzas to eat in or takeaway. Just a few minutes out of town is Lac de Jouarres, a beautiful lake used for fishing, boating, swimming and wind surfing or just a peaceful walk in the sun.

Cycling is very popular, as there are many gently rolling roads and if you want to exert yourselves you can cycle in the hills - say to Minerve. But then it is downhill coming back!

Across the border of Spain, visit the Dali Museum in Figueras or his home in the white-washed fishing village of Cadaques. Barcelona is but a few hours drive as well, with their tradition of Bull Fights.

International airports are at Montpellier (1 1/2 hours), Carcassonne (45 minutes), Toulouse (2 hours), Perpignan (70 mins) and in Spain at Barcelona (3 hours). Narbonne railway station is 35 minutes.

The gently rolling hills and vineyards of the Minervois, provides a stunning setting similar to nearby Provence, but without the crowds. The Mediterranean beaches are only 30 minutes away, and to the south lie the snow capped Pyrenees.

Olonzac in the Minrvois, Languedoc. The village of Minerve and the Canal du Midi are both ten minutes away by car (and easily accessible by bicycle), the Montagne Noire 20 minutes and Mediterranean beaches 35-40 minutes. Excellent day excursions include the Pyrénées, Cathar castles, the National Park of the Upper Languedoc and north-eastern Spain.

The Minervois, located in the western end of the Department of the Hérault, is a small but geographically diverse area within the much larger region of the Languedoc-Roussillon. It extends roughly from the southern slopes of the Montagne Noire (at the southern extremity of the Massif Central) to the Canal du Midi.

Although named for the historic village of Minerve, Olonzac (pronounced "oh-lohn-ZACK") is its commercial centre. The Minervois excels year-'round in both on-road and off-road cycling and offers very good walking and bird-watching.

Olonzac is a larger village with full services, including four cafés, two banks, three bakeries, three butchers, a traiteur (somewhat along the lines of a deli), two general grocery stores, a supermarket, a weekly market, two florist's shops, hardware and building stores, a news agent, a small book store, several hairdressers, a very good barber/coiffeur, four restaurants and a café/snack bar at the Lac de Jouarres just outside Olonzac.

There are many more good restaurants within a few minutes' drive. Wines produced by the Oupia and Olonzac co-operatives are sold here.