Castelnau-d'Aude is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Aude

Aude

Aude is a department in south-central France named after the river Aude. The local council also calls the department "Cathar Country".Aude is also a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother...

 department in southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Location

The village is equidistant between the cities of Carcassonne

Carcassonne

Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...

 and Narbonne

Narbonne

Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...

in the shadow of the Black Mountains and surrounded by vineyards. A rural paradise, the village remains undiscovered by many from outside the region.

Winemaking

The production of wine has gone on in this area of France for centuries, and the village is surrounded by a fantastic vista of grape vines which positively glow in the extraordinary golden light for which this region is famed.

Castelnau is gifted with a fine winemaking family, Roland and Anne-Marie Coustal, who make wine under the name Terres Georges. The moderate scale of production allows the entire process to be undertaken by hand. Many of the wines from this cave have won awards at the major European French wine festivals. The cave is open to the public for tasting sessions with the winemakers on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Population

Facilities

For a village of its size, the community is relatively well equipped. Castelnau has some basic facilities including a Mayors office, small Post-office, shop, rugby field, petanque pitch, tennis courts and a beautiful small church.