Domaine Fontaine

Anecdotes from the estate: Being a winemaker is like being a good cook: you first need excellent ingredients to make good food, and to achieve this, there are no secrets: respect for the terroir and the vine is essential to obtaining excellent grapes at perfect ripeness; vinification without the addition of chemical yeasts or flavorings to reach the essence of the taste. A little history of the estate: The Romans were already winemakers on our land. In the cellar, there is still a stone vat dating from 1750. Our greatest pride is producing a high-quality wine that is in total respect for nature, by managing every step of the winemaking process. With good grapes, you make good wine, and this translates, for 80%, into the work in the vineyards: working the terroir is done with respect for the land and the vine. Pruning is done late in the season and during a waning moon. Bud thinning and shoot thinning are done at the right time, and minimal soil work is carried out with shallow tilling to keep the soil alive. Our yield is small: 8 hectoliters per hectare, but this produces excellent grapes for making our wine. We are also proud to vinify our grapes without adding yeasts or flavorings. The pride of the estate: Our small 2-hectare estate of Grenache vines is located on the south-facing slopes of the beautiful village of Visan. We preserve our clay-limestone terroir, rich in pebbles, using biodynamic principles: working the soil, pruning, bud thinning, and shoot thinning in harmony with the lunar cycle, as well as hand-harvesting and bottling when the moon dictates (a terroir day). Vinification and filtration are done naturally, without chemical yeasts, and pump-overs are performed twice a day. We are passionate about presenting quality wines while fully respecting the terroir and the environment.