Limoux

Limoux stands on the Aude among the vineyards of the upper valley. The wines of the district became known as blanquette, a name associated with the pale down on the local grape's leaves. Tradition places the beginnings of its sparkling wine in the cellars of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Hilaire nearby, where a monk is said to have noticed bubbles forming in a closed bottle. Wine growing gave the town a lasting connection to the surrounding hills.