Stéphane Yerle: Advocating Progressive Organic Viticulture

Originally from the Basque Country and the Pyrenees, Stéphane Yerle cut his teeth in 1995 at Alain Brumont before launching his own projects. Today, he works as a wine production consultant and winemaker alongside his wife, Cécile, at Vila Voltaire.

Stephane Yerle: winemaker and wine consultant in the Languedoc

When I graduated from my agricultural engineering school in Angers, the Bordeaux region seemed rather rigid to me in terms of land ownership. The Languedoc, on the other hand, was more welcoming—both financially and historically—for people just starting out in the wine business. Here on the Mediterranean coast, I love the history of the grape variety: Carignan performs exceptionally well, and then there’s the art of living, the olive trees… it’s all so charming! Investing in old vines slated for uprooting was a true test of style. At Vila Voltaire, we wanted to demonstrate that these vines are highly attractive and productive. We’ve found grape varieties that can store enormous amounts of sugar in their trunks, making them much more robust and ensuring consistency in the style of the vintages.

It was online that Cécile and I found our winemaker’s house—a true love at first sight back in the 2000s. With its adjoining old cellar, ancient stone walls, and thermal mass, this house embodied the region’s winemaking heritage and offered incredible opportunities. Our family project is centered on the idea of working independently, being able to do everything on our own. If we had been far from the estate, it would have been difficult to balance our two professional activities as winemaker and consultant. Today, my consulting work is primarily a means of support: it allows me to be more secure and confident in my work as a winemaker. It also gives us independence from banks… allowing us to be winemakers at our own pace. Conversely, my work as a winemaker brings me a great deal in terms of consulting: I’ve been advising a client on organic wine in the Corbières region for a long time, so I can offer them all my expertise as an organic winemaker.

Stephane Yerle, winemaker at Vila Voltaire: “I’m fighting for a more progressive approach to organic viticulture”

For me, organic farming isn’t about “not doing” something; it’s about “doing something different” with a different technical approach. I’m fighting for a more progressive form of organic viticulture, free from restrictions. It requires a lot of monitoring and experimentation, but it’s worth it. In fact, under the thumb of pharmaceutical sponsors, research has stopped investing in alternative viticultural approaches in recent years. So, on our end, we’re trying to reclaim that freedom in organic viticulture and winemaking.

For us, it is essential to stop using sulfur in the harvest. While sulfur is a good antioxidant, it is also a non-selective solvent, meaning it extracts just as many beneficial compounds as it does harmful ones. With our organic methods and the Languedoc climate, we can afford to let things “unfold” naturally. Unfortunately, for far too long, organic farming has been neglected by public institutions. A former official once dared to claim that organic farming was not viable in the long run, but that is because we are not given the means to improve it. It is up to public authorities to fund research to develop alternative solutions.

Find wines from Vila Voltaire (Languedoc) on Les Grappes