The Floc de Gascogne is a regional apéritif

Aperitif

Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...

 from the Côtes de Gascogne

Côtes de Gascogne

Côtes de Gascogne is a wine-growing district in Gascony producing principally white wine. It is mainly located in the département of the Gers in the French region Midi-Pyrénées, and it belongs to the wine region South West France. The designation Côtes the Gascogne is used for a Vin de Pays ...

 and Armagnac regions of Sud-Ouest wine region

South West France (wine region)

South West France or in French Sud-Ouest, is a wine region in France covering several wine-producing areas situated respectively inland from, and south of, the wine region of Bordeaux...

 of France. It is a vin de liqueur fortified

Fortified wine

Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...

 with armagnac

Armagnac (drink)

Armagnac is a distinctive kind of brandy or eau de vie produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of Armagnac grapes, including Baco 22A, Colombard, and Ugni Blanc, using column stills rather than the pot stills used in the...

, the local brandy

Brandy

Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

. It has had Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

status since 1990.
Elsewhere in France analogous drinks are made (Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des Charentes, is a regional French aperitif, made in the départements of Charente, Charente-Maritime and, to a much lesser extent, Dordogne in western France...

 in the Cognac zone, Macvin in Jura; there is also Pommeau

Pommeau

Pommeau is an alcoholic drink made in northern France by mixing apple juice with apple brandy .It is consumed as an apéritif, or as an accompaniment to melon or blue cheese...

, similarly made by blending apple juice and apple brandy

Calvados (spirit)

Calvados is an apple brandy from the French région of Basse-Normandie or Lower Normandy.-History:Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known Norman distillation was carried out by "Lord" de Gouberville in 1554, and the guild for cider...

).

History

Floc de Gascogne is produced according to a recipe that has been in use in Gascogne since the 16th century. The name "Floc de Gascogne" was coined by Henri Lamor, a winemaker from Cravencères, in 1954. The word "floc" comes from the Occitan language and means bouquet of flowers.

Characteristics

Floc de Gascogne is a mistelle, a vin de liqueur (a fortified sweet wine) made of 1/3 of armagnac and 2/3 of fresh grape juice both from the wine area Armagnac

Armagnac (region)

The hilly countship of Armagnac , in the foothills of the Pyrenées between the Adour and Garonne rivers, is a historic countship of the Duchy of Gascony, established in 601 in Aquitaine...

/ Côtes de Gascogne

Côtes de Gascogne

Côtes de Gascogne is a wine-growing district in Gascony producing principally white wine. It is mainly located in the département of the Gers in the French region Midi-Pyrénées, and it belongs to the wine region South West France. The designation Côtes the Gascogne is used for a Vin de Pays ...

. Both of these must be produced by the same vineyard.

Floc de Gascogne is produced in both white and rosé varieties. The alcohol percentage is between 16–18 % vol.
After blending, the Floc is kept for 10 months in the cellar of the producer and must be approved by a committee of experts before it can be sold under the appellation Floc de Gascogne.

It is used as an aperitif most often, but also as a dessert drink. It should be consumed while cool, and is suberb on ice. Almond, jasmine, roses, honey, black fruit and condiments are characteristic notes. Floc should be drunk within a year after the production. Once a bottle is opened, it may be stored for up to three months in the refrigerator.

Armagnac/Côtes de Gascogne region

The region is divided in three distinct production areas:

• Bas-Armagnac
  Bas-Armagnac
  Bas-Armagnac is one of the three plantation areas in the Armagnac area where grapes for the distillation of the Armagnac eau-de-vie can be cultivated. It extends over the Landes and Gers departments and represents 57% of the vineyards. It lies in the west, beside Armagnac-Ténarèze, an undulating...
  
  
• Armagnac-Ténarèze
  Armagnac-Ténarèze
  Armagnac-Ténarèze, one of the three terroirs in the Armagnac region where grapes for the distillation of the Armagnac eau-de-vie can be cultivated. This area lies between Bas-Armagnac and Haut-Armagnac, covering the northwestern part of the department of Gers and the southern part of Lot-et-Garonne...
  
  
• Haut-Armagnac
  Haut-Armagnac
  Haut-Armagnac, one of the three terroirs in the Armagnac area where the grapes for the distillation of the Armagnac eau-de-vie can be cultivated...
  
  

The production area is spread across three regions: Gers

Gers

The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...

, Lot-et-Garonne and the Landes. Only grapes harvested in this region may be distilled to Armagnac. The Armagnac area and the Côtes de Gascogne have the same borders. The whole AOC covers vineyards totaling 15.000 hectares.

Grape varieties

• Floc de Gascogne blanc: Colombard
  Colombard
  Colombard is an early fruiting white variety of wine grape, better known as French Colombard in North America. It is possibly the offspring of Gouais Blanc and Chenin Blanc....
  
  , Ugni blanc and Gros Manseng
  Gros Manseng
  Gros Manseng is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France, and is part of the Manseng family. It produces dry wines in the Jurançon and Béarn regions of Southwest France...
  
  
• Floc de Gascogne rosé: Cabernet Franc
  Cabernet Franc
  Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
  
  , Cabernet Sauvignon
  Cabernet Sauvignon
  Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
  
   and Merlot
  Merlot
  Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...