Rik Kat shouldn't be there, in an old house by a row of vineyards in a valley sided by steep crags. He thought he had agreed to meet friends in Roquebrun in the north Languedoc. Turns out they were in Roquebrune just outside Monaco.
He confronted the disaster by heading for the nearest bar where his tale won him job offers in a vineyard in nearby Vieussan. Eight years later, with a house, partner, kids and a restaurant and bar - Lézard Bleu - he describes it as his best mistake.
I had his €12 lunch - smoked trout salad, lamb with olive mash, local cheese to finish or cherry soup prepared by his partner Manue. With it, I drank a lovely deep red called Pourquoi Pas from the local Mas des Cerisiers - Rik pointed out the vineyard. He is completely conversant with the terroir - where the cheeses come from, who makes the best wine, where to go for the herbs I've tasted on the lamb. Additionally, he has introduced Fair Trade produce.
Rik's is part of a growing number of restaurants, chambres d'hôtes, wineries and cheesemakers that are clubbing together with the help of the tourist board to promote the concept of tourisme de terroir.
Terroir is that very French idea of regional individuality. The soil and your connection to it should give the tourist a taste of something unique. The tourist office provides a list of "ambassadeurs" and "adhérents", a selected group of restaurateurs and B&B owners who are able to give you advice on the best in the area you're visiting. Rik points out two further local stops, a cheesemaker and a wine co-operative.
AOC St Chinian comprises 20 villages and their brochure states "a determination to assert a strong identity" in a time of globalisation. But they so rejoice in their locale, that they can't have just "Languedoc-AOC St Chinian" on their bottles - every village is also determined to have its name on the bottle. Ironically, because of this, the AOC loses its identity. That's why consistent, boring, industrial brands like Hardy's and Kumala sell.
"We are trying to educate you," said their marketing manager Olivier Grataloup. "After all these bad New World wines, the next step is for you to drink French wines."
I moved on east towards La Ferme du Mas Rolland at Montesquieu, where you can buy their cheese from a shop round the back of the milking parlour, from little roundels made the day before (moist and cloying rather like a delicate feta) to a hard, tight dry, texture (waxy, intense, slightly spicy) two months older. This is the famous Pélardon. (Double the pleasure by eating it with a local honey.)
From here, I drove over to Beaucaire on the far eastern edges of Languedoc. Over the banks of the Rhône is Provence and all around the banks are fruit trees. Between avenues of poplar and cypresses, you'll glimpse peaches, apricots, apples, nectarines and plums.
Sandrine Ausset plucked a peach from the tree and handed it to me. The blue was leaching through the clouds and I could smell woodsmoke. She runs the vast Domaine des Clos chambre d'hôte next door to her family's fruit orchards, and she has a wonderful way with the under-appreciated art of confiture: peach and mint, apple and pistachio, and courgette jams are in the little shop next door.
The Domaine des Clos is a beautiful building with the interior filled with brash, southern colours and the furnishings of a grandmère's grenier. I spent one evening with a wind up gramophone going through an entire collection of 78s from the 30s and 40s. Jazz, tangos and arias crackled into life. I sat eating cherries I had picked moments before. The scent of peaches wafted through the window as dusk turned to dark.
· GB Airways (0870 8509850, gbairways.com) flies Gatwick-Montpellier until October 1. Fares from £93.60 rtn inc tax. Ryanair flies Stansted-Montpellier from £35. Domaine des Clos, Route de Bellegarde, Beaucaire (+4 6601 1461, domaine-des-clos.com) doubles from €60. Languedoc tourist office, sunfrance.com.
