Marc SOYARD

The former owner had already built a cellar and planted 8 hectares of vines (5 hectares for red and 3 hectares for white) on land classified Burgundy AOC, with the possibility of planting 13 more hectares.

A call for proposals was organised to decide who would take charge of the vinification. The main criteria were:
1. organically cultivated vineyards
2. the person winemaker had to be a young winegrower without an existing family vineyard
3. Agree to open Winery to the public for educational visits.

In 2014, the "winner", Marc Soyard was chosen. The city of Dijon gave him the opportunity to live on Winery, to look after the vines, to produce and sell his own wines. Marc Soyard has to pay a rental fee to the city of 2000 bottles per year. The city of Dijon has chosen other young farmers to manage other projects on the remaining 140 hectares of Winery de la Cras.

But who is Marc Soyard? Originally from a non-wine growing family from the Jura, Marc worked for six years at Winery Bizot in Vosne Romanée as a vineyard manager. He also worked in the cellar with Jean-Yves Bizot to better understand the winemaking process. It is therefore only logical that Marc has adapted to Winery de la Cras the same natural philosophy learned at Winery Bizot. Thus, all the vines are cultivated organically with biodynamic practices.

Depending on the vintage, the reds are partial bunches or 100% bunches. All the vinification is done with natural yeasts and with a minimal addition of sulphur. Maturing is a traditional combination of new and used barrels with numerous experiments. The official appellation of Winery is Bourgogne AOC, but Winery de la Cras is the only producer authorized to use the Coteaux de Dijon designation. The Winery de la Cras produces two reds and two whites. The "Coteaux" cuvée comes from the lower altitude vineyards, while the "Cras" cuvée comes from the steeper, better exposed vineyards with a higher elevation. Marc Soyard also personally owns two small plots of pinot noir further south in the Côte d ' Or - vines of Bourgogne Rouge near Ladoix which he calls Hermaïon and a second plot of Hautes Côte de Nuits.