October 3, 2025 Les Raisins Suspendus In 2020, Angela Weidner and Maxime Aerts, having recently assembled in 2018 three hectares of vines in the forested hills near the village of Saint-Alexandre in the Gard region of the Southern Rhone, began to explore a new terroir, the Hautes-Alpes, to create a second domaine, Les Raisins Suspendus. For mountain lovers Maxime and Angela, it was above all the climatic conditions and geological profile of the region that won them over, where they could create wines that reflect their personality. They embarked on the challenge to restore plots of vines, most of which are centuries old and abandoned by their owners, life-long Hautes-Alpes residents who until recently cultivated their plots to make their own wine. While trying to identify all the grape varieties present in these planted vines, Maxime and Angela are also working on more recent plots, with some rather surprising mountain Chardonnays and Merlots. Nestled between 800 and 1000 metres above sea level, on hillsides overlooking the Durance, these plots are made up of mainly limestone soils, composed of marl and alluvium inherited from the last great glaciation. Considering the vineyards as a fully-fledged, living ecosystem, they work organically, making grass their ally, harvesting the grapes by hand, and making wine without artifice. In 2022 and 2023, they planted 1.5 hectares of vines in Embrun on the slopes of the Durance with a selection of native grape varieties, including Mollard, or those from neighboring Alpine regions, such as Petite Arvine and Mondeuse Blanche.
August 7, 2024 Vins Vivants In early 2024, we were lucky to meet Juliette Gest at a large tasting of organic Alpine wines where her wines stood out for their purity and energy. Only later did we discover that the name of her winery is Vins Vivants. Juliette worked for 20 years as a judge in Paris. In 2020, overwhelmed by confinement and the anguish in the city caused by the COVID epidemic, Juliette left Paris and began a new chapter in her life by moving to the Alps and studying agriculture and oenology in Chambery. After finishing her studies, she worked for several organic and biodynamic producers in the Savoie. Quickly, she found four hectares for sale in the village of Andert et Condon, which is in the southeast corner of the Bugey appellation, very close to Savoie. In 2023, Juliette planted a couple of hectares in the Bugey hills with nearly a dozen different varieties and converted an existing barn into a winery. While her vines are coming of age, she is buying organic and biodynamic fruit from her friends and former employees in Bugey and Savoie. All of Juliette’s grapes are hand harvested and fermented with their natural yeasts. She doesn’t use SO2 until adding a small amount before bottling.
December 2, 2021 Domaine des 13 Lunes Sylvain Liotard farms 5.7 hectares in the village of Chapareillan, along the slopes of the famous Mont Granier. He began in 2014 and pursues a viticulture that is both organic and biodynamic. The domaine is now certified by both Ecocert and Demeter. Sylvain produces wines in the appellations of Abymes, Apremont and Roussette de Savoie, as well as a white blend and two reds from Mondeuse and Gamay.