Famille Bernard

Situated near the town of Orange, the Château Beauchêne vineyard has everything it takes to produce delicious wines. Despite the construction of the château in the 15th century, the vineyard only really developed and made a name for itself in the last century with the arrival on the estate of the Vergniaud-Bernard family, descendants of a long line of local winegrowers. Now run by Michel and Dominique Bernard, the estate is doing wonderfully well. Rooted in their terroir, successive generations of Bernard family winegrowers have always known that vines must be cared for if they are to have a long life, as old vines guarantee optimal quality. Some of the family's plots date back to 1901, just after the phylloxera crisis. Allowing a vine to express itself without forcing it, in the right balance between the characteristics of the terroir and the capacities of the grape variety, is the only way to preserve the true richness of a vineyard through the generations. The Bernard family has been working intensively for several years on agronomic methods that take the environment and health into account: preservation of the ecosystem and its biodiversity (grassing, fauna/flora refuge zones), installation of beehives that serve as ecological indicators and honey harvesting, controlled protection of the vineyard, absence of irrigation and control of soil fertility. HVE certification is an extension of this work. It provides recognition and recognition of these good environmental practices. The history of Château Beauchêne begins in the 15th century, with the arrival in France of another family: the De Biliotti family. They were one of the many Italian families who followed the Pope into exile in Avignon and subsequently prospered in France. The De Biliotti family coat of arms, which has overlooked the château for centuries, has become the château's emblem over the years, and is now engraved on all our bottles. Michel Bernard comes from a family of winegrowers who have been present on the Orange terroir since the 17th century. Farmers until the end of the 18th century, his ancestors became winegrowers after the Revolution in 1794. Together with his wife Dominique, they took over the family estate in 1971, and have continued to improve and develop it ever since.