Vines were planted as early as 125 bc on the hills near the Roman colony of Narbo, modern Narbonne, which today produce Corbières, Minervois, and Languedoc AOC. Narbonne was then an important Roman port, protected by what was then the island of La clape. Cargoes would be taken up river as far as Carcassonne and then transported overland to join the garonne and thence to the Roman legions in Aquitaine. The hinterland of Narbonne and Béziers came to produce so much wine that it was exported to Ancient rome, although the edict of domitian was designed to put a stop to this.
