Winery of OCTAVIN

For Alice Bouvot, music—the cello and her time at the Besançon Conservatory throughout her childhood—comes first. It is this music that gives the Winery its name. Music is represented by the treble clef, the symbol of Winery by many of the names given to Winery vintages Winery by Mozart: Zerlina, Pamina, Tamino, Queen of the Night, Dorabella, and more
But music doesn’t make the wine (it merely accompanies it), so Alice Bouvot also studied agricultural engineering in Bordeaux and earned a National Diploma in Oenology. With this degree in hand, Alice spent three long and wonderful years traveling through vineyards around the world before returning—in the prime of her life (in her thirties)—to settle, quite naturally, in the Jura region, in Arbois.

In 2005, she founded a 3. Winery with Charles Dagand, which she has run on her own since 2015. Winery since 2006 and DEMETER-certified biodynamic since 2007. As we say here—and that’s exactly how it’s done—the wines are alive and contain no additives or filtration, period. :-)

Alice Bouvot, works with emotion and sensitivity and her wines are the result of "an interpretation of the different terroirs with the most honest transcription of the messages naturally sent by the vines". According to Alice, organic, bio-dynamic work is the only solution that allows her to obtain a soil that is alive and functioning in balance. All this is practiced with humility: observation and feeling. Nothing is acquired, knowledge is a long way without certainty. Normally, Alice, will integrate in the medium term a horse companion (Comtois) in the work of the vines.

Alice says, “At Winery Octavin Winery , there’s no set formula—every harvest is a surprise, and I adapt to the grapes and their vintage. That’s why the whites can be pressed directly—always as whole clusters—or I might decide to let them macerate like the reds for several months, either destemmed or as whole clusters; it all depends on my intuition. The same goes for aging in tanks or large casks.
For reds, I do not practice pumping over or punching down, but instead allow the grapes to infuse for several months (2 to 10 months) before pressing. The wines are then aged for a few months in tanks and bottled when ready, without filtration or sulfiting, according to the lunar calendar. Destemming depends on the vintage and the grape variety and is done manually on a wicker sieve.”

All the terroirs are vinified separately to better understand and apprehend them. The bottle of wine must contain the typicity of the terroir (parcel) as well as its vintage.

Some terroirs of Winery on Arbois : " En curon " (70 ares), Lieu dit " les Corvées " (90 ares), " En Poussot " (50 ares), " La Mailloche " (60 ares), " En Arces " (Chardonnay 50 ares and Pinot noir 50 ares).

In addition to Winery , Alice Bouvot has established a business dedicated to purchasing organic grapes. The main idea is to produce wine from other grape varieties and other French terroirs; these exchanges with other passionate winemakers are a truly enriching human experience. In practical terms, what does this business entail? “I buy grapes directly from the vine—only those from vineyards in transition to organic farming or certified organic (AB). I do not buy finished wines. This small trading business is AB-certified by Ecocert; invoicing and customs transactions are handled by a company separate from the EARL, which manages my own production. In practice, I head out to harvest with my truck; we harvest early in the morning using baskets holding a maximum of 20 kg alongside the winemaker team, winemaker I return to Arbois later that day. Just as at the Winery, vinification, aging, and bottling are carried out without any additives, and without filtration prior to bottling. Each winemaker ’s grapes winemaker vinified separately, and then in the spring I blend the wines as I see fit.”