The Medoc in Gironde, France
The Médoc is a peninsula in northern of Gascogne composed of the Médoc wine of the Médoc moors located in the department of Gironde. The Médoc is the peninsula bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the estuary of the Gironde on east and the country of Buch on south. Its lower limit, somewhat arbitrarily, passes between Arès and The Porge and the Marais de Bruges (the lower the river Jalle). It is crossed by the 45th parallel. Medoc presents very contrasting landscapes:
-Medoc vineyards (Graves) on the slopes bordering the Gironde, the Bordeaux region extends. It produces very known red wines.
-Landes du Médoc (Pine Forest) is an integral part of the Landes de Gascogne. It contains all the characteristics of Gascony Landes: agro-pastoral system until the mid-nineteenth century, then the law of 19 June 1857, intensive afforestation of heathlands has led to the widespread throughout the Médoc tapping to forest . Only traditional housing, with its modest homes of masonry, stands wooden houses from the rest of the Landes. These houses are slender, with pitched roof and facade on lateral wall. Sometimes they consist of a row of 3 or 4 pieces, several pieces that can communicate with the outside. Small villas resorts, often symmetrical with the front door surmounted by a triangular pediment, have great charm. Marshes north of Lesparre have been drained from the seventeenth century.
