The Languedoc has been a pioneer in French winemaking for centuries. The Greeks introduced the vine and viticulture to the region sometime in the 5th Century B.C. However, it was in 1531 when the Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Saint Hilaire, a town near Limoux, produced the world’s first sparkling wine. It was an immediate hit, so much so that the local lord, the Sieur d'Arques liked to knock back "flasks" of sparkling wine to celebrate his victories. A few centuries later, this land became home to one of the first A.O.C.’s in France and, with the historical anecdote in mind, the local wine growers decided to rename their cooperative winery, Sieur d'Arques. Today the coop farms nearly 3800 plots on four specific terroirs — Méditerranéen, Autant, Océanique and Haute-Vallée  — each producing highly distinctive still and sparkling wines. 

Founded in 1991, the coop sponsors the Toques & Clochers annual gastronomy festival and auction, hosted by a leading chef (a toque), with winemakers from across the globe.  A share of the proceeds is used to pay for the renovation of one of the forty bell towers (clochers) of the appellation, giving back to the villages of the Upper Aude Valley their original character and architectural heritage.