The Languedoc-Roussillon region has for decades been the wine basket of France, pumping out more than half of the country’s inexpensive vin de table, while Provence welcomed tourists and holiday home buyers to its Mediterranean coast.

But this regional divide might soon disappear. Put off by sky-high prices on the Côte d’Azur, property buyers are increasingly turning to the equally stunning and sunny Languedoc. And, thanks to a long-term decline in the market for low-priced French wine (driven by stricter drink driving laws, declining consumption, a flight to quality and foreign competition), land once devoted to vineyards and the chateaux in those grounds are now readily available for new residential developments and owners. In fact, the European Union and a French organisation called Société d’Aménagement Foncier et d’Etablissement Rural (Safer) are promoting such changes by paying farmers to stop production.