The vineyard of Minervois stretches out on 15,000 hectares (4,000 acres) and covers 61 towns and villages or 'communes' in the departments of Aude and Herault from the gates of Carcassonne to the heights of Narbonne, it has the shape of a large amphitheatre delineated by the montage Noire in the South and the Canal du Midi in the North. Marked as it is by Mediterranean influences coming from the East and Atlantic influences coming from the West, being grown at heights that can vary from 50 to 500 meters above sea level on soils whose nature and depth are extremely various, this vineyard provides wine growers with an extreme diversity of situations when it comes to choosing types of vine. The range of wines to discover in Minervois is therefore very wide and diversified as regards' Appellations d'Origine Controlee' (AOC's) as well as protected geographical origin wines 'Vins a' Indications Geograpiques Proteges (GP or former 'Vins de pays) ...