on this new horizon, producing wines like Fat Bastard and Red Bicyclette. Vins Doux Naturels Vins Doux Naturels are "naturally sweet" wines that have been fortified with brandy to stop fermentation, leaving residual sugar to add sweetness to the wine. The majority of Languedoc sweet white wines are made with a variety of Muscat grapes. The red fortified wines of the Banyuls are made from Grenache grapes, normally have an alcohol level between 16 and 17% and carry residual sugars in the 8 to 12% range. In Banyuls, winemakers use various methods to "bake" their wines to encourage deep raisin colors. Some winemakers utilize a solera system of transporting the wine among different size barrels of various ages that are left out in the sun to warm. Others will put the wine in large glass jars to expose it to direct sunlight. In addition to the dark color, the resulting wines often have a nutty, rancid taste called rancio. In the Banyuls Grand Cru AOC the wine is required to be aged in wood barrels for two and a half years. Crémant de Limoux The crémant produced in the Languedoc is made according to the Méthode Traditionnelle – formerly known as méthode champenoise – the same method used to produce Champagne. Méthode Traditionnelle includes a second fermentation in the bottle to encapture the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast. Languedoc crémant is produced in the small villages around the town of Limoux. The wines are normally composed of 70% Mauzac and a 30% combination of Chardonnay and Chenin blanc. AOC regulations require a year of aging on the lees. The Blanquette de Limoux, when labelled méthode ancestrale, is composed entirely of Mauzac, undergoes only one fermentation, and is aged approximately three months less on the lees before the bottling, the actual date being determined by the moon's cycle. See also Wine label References Further reading External links The wines of Languedoc-Roussillon – The official website of France (in English) Regional Guide to Languedoc Wines Languedoc Wine Map Wine regions of France Languedoc-Roussillon