A love story in the vines…  Hélène Zarmati and Christophe Comte were teenage sweethearts when Christophe was confronted with a major decision abut his future: would he prepare to take over the family vineyard and become a winemaker, or would he follow other passions?  Spurred on by Hélène’s contagious smile, he took the plunge and more than two decade later the two of them produce a range of natural wines that are at once straight forward and elegant, crushable, and delectable.

During the days of Christophe’s great-grandfather, the farm, located in beautiful Valvignères (valley of the vines), raised animals and a variety of crops.  There were a few vines, but all the grapes went off to the local co-op.  When Christophe’s dad took over, he gradually increased the proportion of vines, such that when Christophe himself came on board in the mid 1990s, the two of them decided to focus exclusively on wine.  Almost all of their production was still going to local négociants, and Christophe decided the time had come to valorise their distinctive terroir in their very own wines.  

Christophe and Hélène soon shifted to organic agriculture, wanting their vineyard to embody the values of sustainability and healthiness with which they were raising their two children.  In 2008, concerned that new rules on organic agriculture were too permissive, they adopted biodynamic viticulture and started vinifying without sulphites or any other additives.  Close your eyes, take a sip, and imagine yourself in the warm, fragrant air of the strikingly beautiful Ardèche hills.