Gaillac, Further Reading:
A timeless painting will give you pleasure every time you see it upon your wall
A painting that hangs comfortably with the finest marine collections.
Looking for the best in fine art investments? You have found it here.
During 2016, 12 new paintings were produced, much of the work was on location, contributing to making this collection, we hope you will agree, very special; and a bonus, there will be several more paintings to follow.
Each blue photo title is a hyperlink so leads you to more about that painting.
You have just discovered The Gaillac Collection which has not yet been shown outside of Gaillac and this web site.
Imagine?
An exhibition, these paintings as the brilliantly colourful core, presented with products of the region, wines, foods, other, and live French music.
Who could refuse such an invitation???
Gaillac, in and around Gaillac you can still discover the seductive ambiance of old South West France at its best.
The towns of Gaillac and Albi, a tour of the bastide villages, will repay you richly for a lingering visit.
I have been visiting Gaillac since 1989 and lived near Gaillac for 9 years. I’d be very happy to go back.
The sights are memorable, the numerous excellent and mostly inexpensive restaurants and cafes (recommended, eat where you see the French eat), shopping, the old quarters, the parks and museums and naturally, the very varied wines.
About Gaillac (pronounced Guy’ack) and its wines, the Gaillac Collection and a little about how and why they were painted, an ambitious project no one has previously attempted.
There was a time when Gaillac offered some of the most famous wines in France, rivalling the best of Bordeaux, Cote de Rhone and Burgundy.
Rivalry with Bordeaux; Gaillac was being sold ‘as Bordeaux’ and later, restrictions on sales of Gaillac until all the Bordeaux was sold, lead to the branding of many Gaillac wine barrels with a French national symbol, the cockerel (still often seen at football matches !); hence ‘Vin du Coq’.
All that glory ended during the 19 th century.
What happened is an interesting story, what is happening now, an even better story.
The two events combine for me, they are a large part of the parcel of the reasons I painted this series.
Gaillac wines; probably no other region anywhere on Earth can offer you such a diverse selection of fine and table wines within so small a terroir; from the latest bio, to ancient methods including the Perlé semi sparkling wines that gave birth to the world famous Champagnes and wines made from a grape variety and by methods the Romans would have known.
This is a wine region with a very long history.
How was it, wines prized by Kings of England & all Northern Europe, prized by the founding fathers of the United States of America, fell into obscurity during the 19 th century?
Two clues; by French standards the region is small, remote.
Gaillac wines benefit from three very different terroir, a wide sun trap of a sheltered valley, rolling hills that are the southern edge of the Massif Central and a cooler plateau, to which is grafted an exceptional and long, long tradition.
Gaillac’s three terrior of vineyards, valley, hills, plateau, for most of the year bask under a warm and bright, benign southern sun.
The roots of Gaillac vines and wines burrow back 2,300 years, maybe more, they are known to have been cultivated by Phoenicians who somehow, it must have been quite an adventure, found their way up the capricious, turbulent river Tarn to it’s navigable head, a place we know today as Gaillac.
Gaillac wines were among THE preferred wines of South West France, then they fell ‘off our radar’.
Today, tomorrow in younger skilled hands Gaillac vines are producing some of the most interesting, individual and varied wines in France, they are definitely making a come back.
You can find at the isolated Castel de Brames, wines made from a grape variety and by methods the Romans would have known.
As for sparkling wines, you can discover the origin of the world famous Champagnes at Gaillac.
Dom Pérignon learnt his craft at the Abbeye Saint Micheal, beside the river Tarn in Gaillac before moving to the Champagne region were he was put in charge of wine production.
A Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon was an important quality pioneer for wine, in particular famous for Champagne.
Contrary to popular myths, he did not discover the champagne method.
Semi-sparkling wines, Dry White Perlé, were already being made and still are around Gaillac, at for example, Château de Saurs.
Today, Gaillac wines are rediscovering their past glory.
This beautiful Gaillac Collection introduces you, through the eyes and mind of a painter, to a sample of the most interesting châteaux and domains, the rich colours, varied light and variety of this remote, beautiful region which for most of the year basks in a benign climate. Gaillac offers you fabulous wines and gourmet foods to discover, among the finest of France.
Gaillac is a region of rich colours, varied light and variety, of abundant flora and fauna including wild orchids, some of the oldest unspoilt forests of Europe, teaming with wild life, a remote, beautiful region which for most of the year basks in a benign climate.
The Gaillac region, the province of Tarn, the heart of ancient L’Occitain, offers you fabulous wines and gourmet foods to discover, among the finest of France.
Gaillac, at the heart of L’Occitane region in more than one way, if you stay there for more than a week, you may never want to leave… You’d not be the first of last to be seduced by Le Tarn, Gaillac and Albi.
Gaillac, (pronounced Guy’ack) at the heart of L’Occitane region, SW France; don’t stay there for more than a week, you may never want to leave…
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Gordon Frickers © 0,07,2017 updated 22.05.2018
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