 lirac is a wine-growing appellation d'origine contrÃ´lÃ©e (aoc) in the department of gard situated in the low hills along the right bank of the rhÃ´ne river in the southern rhÃ´ne wine region of france. it is named after the village of lirac. bordering on the neighbouring cru of tavel aoc, a rosÃ©-only cru in the next village, lirac is one of the 13 crus of the rhÃ´ne valley family. on the opposite river bank is the famous chÃ¢teauneuf-du-pape vineyard. ==history== lirac wines have been produced in the region since pre roman times and were the favourite wines of kings and the papal community in avignon at the time of the schism. pope innocent iv ordered 20 casks of wine from there in 1357 and henry iv of france and louis xiv served them regularly in court known only as rhÃ´ne wine.niels lillelund: rhÃ´ne-vinene jp bÃ¸ger - jp/politikens forlagshus a/s, 2004. isbn 87-567-7140-1, p. 166 in the mid 17th century the right-bank district of cÃ´te du rhÃ´ne had issued regulations to govern the quality of its wine and in 1737 the king ordered that casks of lirac wine shipped from the nearby river port of roquemaure should be branded with the letters cdr to introduce a system of protecting its origin. the rules for its cÃ´te du rhÃ´ne thus formed the very early basis of today's nationwide aoc system governed by the inao.institut national des appellations d'origine contrÃ´lÃ©e et de la qualitÃ© production was very high in those days. in 1774 the vintage yielded more than 8000 hl. of wine. later, less happy news arrived. in 1863 phylloxera arrived in lirac and the appellation is believed to be the origin of the pest in france, as an experimenting winemaker at chÃ¢teau de clary thought of planting californian vines which proved exceptionally disease carrying. the name was changed to cÃ´tes du rhÃ´ne when the left-bank wines were included in the appellation some hundred years later. the appellation received full recognition by a high court decision in 1937.maison de vins, avignon in the 1930s, count henri de rÃ©gis, the owner of the chÃ¢teau de sÃ©griÃ¨s in the heart of the village of lirac improved the quality of his wines until in 1945 he obtained the highest distinction,
1940s_establishments_in_France RhA'ne_wine_AOCs