Through her new wine, the dry Maury, or Maury sec, her well-known fortified sweet wines (known as vins doux naturels) and her gourmet events, the new president of the winegrowers’ cooperative, Aurélie Pereira, has transformed the Maury wine district into an irresistible wine tourism destination in the Roussillon region.

You have been president of the Cru Maury group of winegrowers since February 2015 and are developing wine tourism events … 

The wine-growing village of Maury is at the heart of a breathtaking landscape at the foot of the Chateau de Quéribus and the Corbières Mountains, but it is a little further away from the beaches and the main highways … Our intention is to attract the maximum number of wine enthusiasts and the general public to our unusual and distinctive wine district. The Amorioles gourmet walks were created by the wine growers of Maury wine district, by the cooperative wine cellar and by my predecessor, Bernard Rouby, in order to modernize the historic Wine Festival, which was running out of steam. 

What is your concept? 

We haven’t reinvented anything … We have simply adapted the concept of the gourmet walk to our local area. One Sunday in May, six gourmet stages were created at the heart of the Maury vineyards, by 24 wine growers and two leading chefs from the district. This very successful partnership has also led to another event, which takes place in April: ‘Maury, Cheese and Chocolate’. A great occasion to discover the sublime harmonies of chocolate and vins doux naturels (fortified sweet wines), which are already very well known as a fine wine, or cru, but equally the harmony between chocolate and our new wine, Maury sec (dry Maury).   

What do these events do for the Maury wine?​

The Amorioles attracts hundreds of wine enthusiasts who, each year, take the time to come to our vineyards for a day, to discover our wines and become our best ambassadors. In the future, we will make our wine district even more well known thanks to visits centred around nature and wine tourism.