The Graine SAUVAGE

A trained oenologist—and an Italian at that—with a passion for old grape varieties, Sybil Baldassarre settled in the hills above Faugères in 2015 and founded the Winery La Graine Sauvage Winery to produce—exclusively—precise, fresh, and generous white wines; natural wines, in other words!
Spanning 3 hectares in a single block, the vineyards are located at an elevation of 450 meters on a hilltop in the town of Cabrerolles. With a southeast-facing exposure overlooking the Mediterranean, they sit on a terroir of very ancient schist.
As Sybil so aptly puts it, “wine is made in the vineyard ”; which is why all vineyard practices prioritize maintaining the soil’s vitality, with the utmost respect for living organisms and the natural balances still present. Only substances of mineral or plant origin are used to protect the soil, along with animal manure to nourish it. The vineyards are left to grow naturally with cover crops. The work is primarily done by hand, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, in a constant pursuit of precision. Winery four grape varieties—Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Roussanne, and Marsanne—are harvested separately into small crates and vinified with their native flora, without the use of any oenological additives. Sybil Baldassarre ages her wines on the lees and then matures them for at least one year in tanks; they are neither filtered nor sulfited.

Faced with climate change and periods of drought, Sybil is determined to bring the region's old grape varieties (picpoul, aramon blanc, servan, clairette), which are more resistant to the arid climate, back into fashion, and is replanting them from 2019 onwards in a small part of Winery. It also plans to start a conservatory of old grape varieties of the region.

As you can see, Sybil Baldassarre is one of those Winemakers highlight nature through “pure” wines; give them a try!