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PGI — Languedoc-Roussillon
Miel de Cévennes: rich aromatic palette, summer wildflower, autumn chestnut, distinctive flavour of the mountain terroir.
Honey from Languedoc-Roussillon, PGI (IGP) since 2015.
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For families in the Cévennes, honey was long the only available source of sugar in these isolated mountains — it has been an integral part of Cévenol life for centuries. The hives, once installed directly inside hollowed-out chestnut trunks (the « bruscs », preserved today as heritage rather than for production), benefit from an exceptionally rich flora: sweet chestnut, ling heather, heathers, raspberry, dandelion and clover are its most characteristic markers. This floral diversity, which varies with altitude and season and is reflected in the pollen spectrum of all honeys from the area, is the foundation of the unique character of Miel des Cévennes.
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The beekeeping tradition of the Cévennes is closely bound to the cultivation of the chestnut tree: all beekeepers in the area, whether sedentary or transhumant, may produce Miel des Cévennes PGI provided they register their apiaries and submit to the inspections required by the specifications. This ancestral practice yields honeys of very different character depending on the season — spring honey (tree heath), summer honeys (chestnut, raspberry, bell heather, mountain wildflower) and autumn honey (ling heather) — with chestnut remaining the most distinctive and sought-after. The PGI, granted in April 2015, protects an area of 202 communes across Gard, Lozère, Aveyron and Ardèche; it counted 34 approved beekeepers in 2024, with three further holdings obtaining certification for 2025. The GQMOC (Groupement Qualité des Miels d'Occitanie) presents itself as the association bringing together the professional beekeepers behind this PGI initiative.
Aspect
Coppery colour (spring honey, ling heather) to dark brown (chestnut); liquid, crystallised or creamy depending on the harvest
Odeur
Floral and fruity notes with caramelised hints in spring, woody and powerful notes for chestnut
Goût
Sweet, variable bitterness that is more pronounced for chestnut, long aromatic persistence
Texture
Fluid to slightly thick depending on the season; gelatinous and persistent for autumn ling heather honey
by the beekeeper, whether sedentary or transhumant, within the demarcated PGI area
tree heath
chestnut, raspberry, bell heather, mountain wildflower — chestnut being the most distinctive and sought-after honey
ling heather, with a gelatinous, persistent texture
by approved beekeepers, under the supervision of the independent body Qualisud
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Wildflower Miel des Cévennes is the ideal companion for ewe's milk cheeses from the Larzac — Pérail, Roquefort — softening their acidity and magnifying their milky sweetness. A few drops over a platter of fresh goat's cheeses, and the entire Cévenol terroir comes alive.
Chestnut honey, fuller-bodied and tannic, elevates roast meats (leg of lamb, duck), marinades and walnut-oil vinaigrettes. It is also used in traditional Cévenol desserts: chestnut cake, honeyed chestnut flan, and pain d'épices.
Dégustation nature : on a slice of toasted rye bread, at room temperature, to appreciate the terroir's full aromatic complexity.
Since: 2015
Area covered: 202 communes in the Cévennes — Gard, Lozère, Aveyron, Ardèche
Key requirements: Certified local flora (pollen spectrum), registered apiaries, approved beekeepers inspected by Qualisud, physicochemical criteria (HMF, water content)
Association
Beekeeping GAEC
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Gaec Les Ruchers de Puech Cabrier, an organic beekeeping farm in Uchaud (Gard), was established in January 2024 by Katia and Sébastien Floutier, who both run it as farm managers. Sébastien has kept bees since 2018, having spent a decade on his brother's goat and cheese farm, Gaec Floutier Frères, also in Uchaud; Katia, a former French and Latin teacher, joined him as a collaborating spouse in 2022 before setting up as a full-time beekeeper. The couple manage 700 hives under organic beekeeping standards (certified by Ecocert), moved seasonally across several Cévennes massifs and surrounding areas — the Parc National des Cévennes, Petite Camargue, garrigue, Corbières, and the Jura forest.
Depending on the season, they produce chestnut, raspberry, bell heather (Erica), and mountain wildflower honey under the PGI (IGP) Miel des Cévennes; garrigue, Camargue, and lavender honeys fall under the PGI Miel de Provence, also certified Label Rouge. Extraction is carried out on a contract basis by Nectars du Soleil, in Gailhan, near Sommières. Since 2021, the farm has been a member of the Les Miels d'Aristote cooperative, which supplies Biocoop shops nationwide. Katia Floutier also chairs the Groupement Qualité des Miels d'Occitanie-IGP Miel des Cévennes (GQMO-IGP).
Beyond honey, the Gaec processes part of its harvest into value-added products — pain d'épices, soft nougat with lavender honey, honey vinegar, honey spreads — and has lavender honey sweets and pastilles custom-made by the artisanal confectionery Apior in Valensole. Direct sales take place at the farm in Uchaud, where products from the Ferme de Puech Cabrier (located at the same address) are also available, as well as in several organic shops and delicatessens across the Gard and Hérault.
Gard
| Address | Route de Boissières Lieu-dit Puech Cabrier, 30620 Uchaud, France |
| +33 6 71 54 24 14 | |
| mielbiogard.fr | |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2018. |
