Winery DERAIN

Dominique Derain, a native of Beaune who now lives in Saint-Aubin, is quite a figure in Burgundy! He is well known for practicing biodynamics on his Chardonnay, Aligoté, and Pinot Noir vineyards, around the Montrachet hill and in the Saint-Aubin valley. The biodynamic preparations are used to stimulate the soils, which consist of brown clay, crushed marble, and iron-rich earth. Some of the steepest slopes may be plowed by horse.

At Winery Derain, we intervene in the vineyard, not so much in the cellar: disbudding, pruning, trellising. Interventions using plants, rock powders, clay and even horn dung are the guarantee of healthy grapes and exemplary maturity.

The whole, intact grapes are harvested into small crates and are never treated with sulfur! In the cellar, the grapes are destemmed (sometimes only partially), crushed by foot, and then placed in wooden vats for fermentation. At the end of alcoholic fermentation, the wine is pressed and sent for aging. The fermentation of the whites in oak barrels lasts between 1 and 8 months and the juice remains at rest on fine lees until the next harvest. As for the reds, they are matured for 12 to 18 months in wooden vats.

Dominique sold his Winery to Julien Altaber who worked with him for many years. Continuity is assured and Julien is a great winemaker who will be able to maintain the quality of the Winery Derain wines!