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FROM ENGINEERING TO WINEGROWING

Two brothers, Henri and Valentin. Grew up near Chinon. Their parents owned an auto repair garage in the Loire valley. They were encouraged to work and study hard. They became engineers, and worked as such for several years, but soon discovered that working in an office wasn’t for them.

Passionate about wine, Henri was the first to take the plunge. In 2013, he went back to school and obtained his BTS in viticulture and oenology in Bergerac. Degree in hand, he began his personal Tour de France…Sud-Ouest, Loir et Cher, Touraine… working with and learning from some of the best winemakers in France. Most notable of these years was his time spent with Patrick Corbineau, who became his mentor.

Valentin followed in 2015, obtaining his own BTS from Mâcon. He worked first with Yvon and Jules Métras, whom he still calls and consults. He also worked with and learned from other excellent wine producers including Philippe Chigard and Bernard Baudry.

In 2017 they started to look for a vineyard in their home region, Loire Valley. It took 18 months to find a suitable vineyard for their vision. Eventually finding a 11ha vineyard in Beaumont en Véron (AOC Chinon). Old vines (30 to 60 years old) planted on hillsides with 6 different terroirs. 70% of massal selections and a beautiful cellar in the tuffeau.

24 friends and relatives invested 170,000 euros which allowed them to start their venture. Officially launching in 2019 their immediate conversion to environmentally conscious organic viticulture. Staking of 12,000 young plants to protect them. Straightening of old vines. Their first harvest was 2020 with their first wines being bottled in December 2020.

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This biodynamic domain was first established in 1846 by Pierre Gendrier, and has been passed down the lineage from father to son for seven generations.

The history of the estate is very much tied to the rare grape Romorantin. This white wine varietal is a sibling of Chardonnay and was introduced to the region by King Francois in 1519, when he transported 80,000 rootstocks from Burgundy to his mother's château in the town of Romorantin. The variety spread to Cour-Cheverny and when the Cour-Cheverny appellation was founded in 1993, it was restricted to entirely Romorantin grapes.

At Domaine des Huards, Eugène Magloire Gendrier planted the oldest Romorantin vines in 1922. Today the family-run estate is managed following organic and biodynamic practices and has been certified since 1998.

Jocelyne and Michel Gendrier are the domain’s current stewards and are dedicated to fostering a biological equilibrium among the soils and with the surrounding environment. They’ve planted annual and perennial herbs in the vineyards to increase biodiversity, and meld traditional methods and modern equipment to produce fresher style of wines.

Set between the Loire and Sologne regions, the vineyards benefit from a semi-oceanic climate, with deep soils consisting of a chalky limestone and sandy loam, with some parcels topped with calcareous clay.

Each harvest, the Gendriers aim to capture that vintages’ particularities and those of the terroir in the winery. Fermentation is by way of natural yeasts, with a low dose of sulphur as the only input.

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The domaine of Patrice Colin, 27ha, is located in Thoré, close to Vendôme in Touraine. Planted on clay-with-flints soils, the Pineau d’Aunis vines- some of them dating back to 1890- the Chenin (close to 80 years old), Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay, give incredibly pure wines marked by terroir and balance. In the past few years, following a restructuring of the domaine, 30% of the vines were pulled out except the oldest vines of Pineau d’Aunis and Chenin that were kept.

The impeccable work of Patrice Colin- wild yeasts, mastering temperature, well integrated oak- gives a very long aging potential to his wines which or can simply consumed with delicate dishes. A great winemaker, in love with his work, shy but efficient, in an appellation zone of the Loire Valley unfortunately not very well known and yet with exceptional value for money. These wines definitely deserve the rewards he received from wine magazines like la Revue des Vins de France or other wine sections of magazines like Le Point.

Farming/vinification practices: certified organic. Patrice encourages biodiversity: there are 150 different plants in the vineyard. The soil is tilled for oxygenation and green harvest is practiced.

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Catherine and Didier Champalou are both descendants of vigneron families. But after studying at viticulture school in Saumur, they decided to branch off own their own. That was in 1983, and they’ve since shaped and grown their domaine to become one of the most highly acclaimed in the Vouray appellation.

A respect for their land and nature informs every decision the Champalous make, in both work and in life. Since the beginning they have utilised viticulture methods that promote and preserve a healthy ecosystem, and in 2005 they became certified with Terra Vitis, which is an association of passionate vignerons in France who champion sustainability within their practices. The association’s charter is adapted from region to region, as they understand that wine cannot be cultivated in the same fashion across the many varied terroirs of France.

Champalou Vignerons grow only Chenin Blanc—or ‘Pineau de la Loire’ as it is colloquially known. When rooted within the limestone-heady soils of the Loire Valley, this varietal takes on a complex and elegant expression.

This grape is the mainstay of Vouvray, which is situated in the Touraine region. The climate is warm and continental, with slowly dropping temperatures in autumn making for a long-ripening season. The high humidity also yields the beloved noble rot, which means Didier can encourage his harvest into a botrytis state called moelleux, as well as a pétillant (sparkling), sec (dry and crisp), and demi-sec (off-dry).

The domain’s 21 hectares sit within rich clay, limestone, and siliceous soils. The soil structure benefits from regular aeration from plowing, and cover crops are planted between rows to assist with water absorption and to encourage microbial activity in the soil. All grapes are harvested by hand, and fermented slowly using indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally depending on the vintage.

Didier and Catherine’s daughter, Céline, now assists her father with the winemaking, after completing internships in New Zealand, South Africa, Languedoc, Corsica, and Canada.

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Established since 2008, Tanguy Perrault and Anne-Cécile Jadaud, this young couple full of energy own 2.5 hectares of vines spread over three locations. Anne-Cécile teaches oenology at the wine school in Amboise and Tanguy with an oenology degree and Master of Philosophy says "My wife is the head, I’m the hands!".

Tanguy's career started with a job in Bordeaux working in the vineyard and then as a cellar master for a famous domain in Vouvray. His determination pushed him to settle his own estate, and especially after a reflection of his boss who told him in substance: "You'll never work for anyone!" Taking this to a sentence or a fatality, it was the beginning of a new adventure.

Tanguy and Anne-Cecile’s work is meticulous, even difficult due to some vineyards in terrace. They managed to recently aquire a new vineyard, planted in 1961. Their production is made of a dry and off dry style and some fine bubbles under the ancestral method.

All wines are aged in old barrels, including their sparkling wines. There is a traditional aspect in their work and even if they are not fundamentalists "organic" they argue that choice, because it is the easiest way to grow while keeping a distrust copper treatments. Yields never exceed 30 hectoliters per hectare in the best years.

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In the 1990s, the Boisard family purchased a plot of land with a traditional vigneron’s house and half a hectare of grapes. Brothers Cyril and Fabien were only teenagers at the time, but the former grower taught the boys how to care for the vines and vinify the grapes for the family’s personal consumption.

This experience led Cyril to become enamoured with the vineyard work, and eventually he went to study at the wine school of Montreuil-Bellay, near Saumur. During a traineeship with another winemaker, Cyril was offered a parcel of three hectares of vines, which his father bought to help kickstart the 19-year-old’s budding career. Meanwhile, Fabien had been studying a degree in viticulture and joined the fledgling domain in 1998.

These days, the brothers tend to 15 hectares, with new plantings of Menu Pineau, Chenin Blanc, Grolleau, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon joining their original Cabernet Franc parcels.

The domain is set at the northern end of the Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil AOC, between Angers and Tours. It is Certified Organic Biodynamic by Ecocert and Nature et Progrès—one of the oldest bodies overseeing and certifying organic agriculture in France. When they began cultivating in 1996, Domaine du Mortier was the only organic vineyard in the area. Now the appellation boasts 20% of organically farmed vineyards.

The brothers are passionate about developing and preserving soil health, and actively plant alternate crops within the vineyard to encourage biodiversity and the natural flavours found in the wine.

Since 2003, they have been developing an experimental vineyard in the nearby commune of Brain-sur-Allonnes, where they have planted fruit trees (including 30 apple trees), chestnut, ash and acacia, and other plants.

Sand and gravel is typical of Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, but some parcels are also rooted in limestone-rich clay. Everything is done by hand in the vineyard, including grassing and ploughing between rows, and the occasional addition of biodynamic compost.

Grapes are hand harvested, and sulphur is used sparingly at the point of bottling only. Whole bunches are fermented at low temperatures in concrete tanks in the old cellar beneath the house.

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The Cadart family has been producing wine at Château de Quincay since 1860. For five generations, the domain has been passed down from father to son.

Located on the southern hillsides of the Cher River near Meusnes, the domain benefits from a continental climate, influenced heavily by the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean at the western edge of the region.

This family tends to its 25 hectares of vines with the utmost care for the environment at heart. The vineyards are managed using sustainable viticulture and integrated farming methods to ensure respect for the grape and wine.

Classified within the Touraine AOC, the domain is set among the limestone and flinty clay soils endemic to the area, with Touraine recognised for its flintstone—which was once cut to make gunflints during the Napolean years.

Winemaking follows “methodes traditionnelle”, with the grapes cold settled and fermented for 20–25 days, and matured on fine lees for four to six months.