The Fronton wine growing area dates back to the Romans who planted the first vine stock on the the terrasses overlooking the Tarn Valley. However, winegrowing in the Fronton area really took a historical up turn in XII century when the ‘Négrette’ variety was introduced.
Back in those days the vines belonged to the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. They discovered a local Mavro (‘black’in Greek) grape variety in Cyprus during the Crusades and brought it back to France to plant it in their commanderies one of which was in Fronton.
Over the year Mavro variety has become the nègrette which lends Fronton wines their specific charateristics, Fronton being the only soil in France on which this variety and grows well thrives.