In 1860 Abbé Rous, the new Curé at the Chapelle de la Rectorie, first tasted the naturally sweet wine of Banyuls and found it so good that he decided, through his network of Catholic contacts, to make it the communion
wine of France.

In 1870 the railway reached Banyuls and the abbé was able to move around  as much wine as the locals could produce. Soon Banyuls was being drunk as the perfect accompaniment to foie gras in the best restaurants in the land.