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PGI — Languedoc-Roussillon
On the rounded pebbles of the Costière, a small, bright red strawberry comes into production from early March — the very first fruit of the year grown in open ground in France.
Fruit from Languedoc-Roussillon, PGI (IGP) since 2013.
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The Costière plateau stretches south-east of Nîmes, between 20 and 147 metres in altitude, across 28 communes of the Gard. This singular plateau rests on rounded pebbles — the 'cailloutis villafranchiens', ancient alluvial spreads from the Plio-Quaternary period deposited by the Rhône and the Durance between Avignon and Montpellier, devoid of limestone.
These pebbles play a dual, fundamental agronomic role. First, a thermal one: at night, they release the sun's heat stored during the day, contributing to the thermal gain that gives the fraise de Nîmes its earliness. Second, a hydric one: the terroir is both warm and free-draining. The primary constraint remains the mistral — a violent and destructive wind —, which obliges growers to protect their crops systematically under tunnels or tarpaulin shelters; the latter must imperatively be closed by 15 February at the latest to break bud dormancy and ensure the product's earliness. Thanks to this method of open-ground cultivation under shelter, the fraise de Nîmes comes into production from the very beginning of March — the first French fruit of the year grown in open ground, several weeks ahead of France's other production basins.
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In 1941, strawberry production in the Gard was still modest: 408 quintals in total, with 20% already coming from the area that would become the PGI. The true revolution came at the turn of the 1960s, brought about by the conjunction of several decisive factors. First, the development of the irrigation network of the Compagnie Nationale d'Aménagement de la région du Bas-Rhône et du Languedoc (CNABRL). Next, the arrival in eastern Languedoc of pioneering farmers from other French regions — notably from the Vaucluse and North Africa. Finally, the Services Agricoles du Gard, in collaboration with the INRA d'Avignon-Montfavet and the foyer agricole des Costières, launched varietal trials that quickly demonstrated the area's potential for earliness. By 1964, production had surged to 5,000 quintals across around sixty hectares.`
The strawberry fitted into the calendar of the Costière with perfect agricultural logic: as growers who were first and foremost arboriculturists or winegrowers, they found in this 'off-season' crop an ideal complement that made productive use of their labour between early March and early May, before the first stone fruits. It was growers from Saint-Gilles, on the Costières, who were the first to successfully cultivate the Gariguette — a variety bred by Georgette Risser at the INRA d'Avignon-Montfavet station and listed in the official catalogue in 1976 — and who marketed it from the late 1970s on the advice of the CTIFL de Balandran. The sector became structured: in 2001, the association des Producteurs de Fraises de Nîmes was founded with 15 growers across 9 hectares and registered the 'Fraises de Nîmes' trademark with the INPI; in 2013, the European PGI came to consecrate this tradition.
Appearance
stem and calyx must be fresh and green, fruit sound, shiny and unblemished. Gariguette slender and vermilion; Ciflorette elongated in shape, redder in colour (orange to brick) than the Gariguette.
Aroma
intense fragrance of fresh strawberries, with pronounced wild strawberry notes in the Ciflorette.
Taste
minimum sugar level of 7.5° Brix checked at grading. Gariguette tender and slightly tangy; Ciflorette very sweet with juicy flesh.
Texture
neither firm nor soft — a fine balance according to Taste France; the Ciflorette is reputed to be less delicate than the Gariguette.
bred by Georgette Risser at the INRA d'Avignon-Montfavet station, registered in the official catalogue in 1976, grown and marketed for the first time by growers from Saint-Gilles (Costières) in the late 1970s. Vermilion, elongated, tender and slightly tangy.
bred by the CIREF and registered in the French official catalogue in 1998. Elongated shape, very sweet and aromatic, pronounced wild strawberry flavour, less delicate and redder in colour than the Gariguette; selected by growers as the second 'Fraise de Nîmes' variety after several years of trials on the Costières.
SOC/CAC-certified plants, sprinkler-irrigated in July–August to encourage establishment.
production starts in early March and continues until early May — the first open-ground strawberries in France each year.
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Fraises de Nîmes are best enjoyed plain, barely rinsed, to appreciate their exceptional sweetness and intense fragrance. A light pressure of the thumb is enough to check their ripeness: the flesh should yield slightly and release a bright red juice.
On a table in the Gard, they find their natural place in a tarte fine on an almond shortcrust pastry, or in a strawberry carpaccio with fresh mint and lemon juice. The traditional version — strawberries with sugar and a drizzle of thick crème fraîche — remains timeless. In a savoury pairing, a few slices of Gariguette accompany a burrata drizzled with a thread of Languedoc olive oil.
Wine pairings: a sweet Clairette de Bellegarde moelleux or a Muscat de Lunel for desserts; a rosé from the Costières de Nîmes, produced on the same pebble plateau, for sweet-and-savoury combinations.
Since: 2013
Area covered: 28 communes Costière Nîmes (altitude 20–147 m)
Key requirements: Open ground + shelter mandatory, Gariguette or Ciflorette, Brix ≥ 7.5%, fresh calyx, delivery on the day of harvest or the following day
European registration.
No producer is listed for this product yet.
