Based in the picturesque village of Ayse, Domaine Belluard sits at the base of the French Alps, just 30 miles or so from the famous Mont Blanc. Vineyards have existed here for a millennia or... Read More
Based in the picturesque village of Ayse, Domaine Belluard sits at the base of the French Alps, just 30 miles or so from the famous Mont Blanc. Vineyards have existed here for a millennia or more, but the region is not famous for wine. Dominique Belluard has worked very hard to change this. In 1988, Dominique (Dom to friends) took over his family's small farm which included some vines. His goal was to to transform his family's land into a world-class biodynamic vineyard and winery.
He kept the old family plots of the indigenous Altesse, Mondeuse and most importantly Gringet. If you've never heard of Gringet, you are not alone. Dominique farms more than half of the world's acreage of this rare grape, a whole 30 hectares.
Gringet was traditionally used only for sparkling wines due to its naturally high acidity. And indeed Dom makes a couple of excellent 100% sparkling Gringets, including his Tête de Cuvée Mont Blanc. But he also makes some wonderful still wines from this rare variety.
It's not easy to find commercial success working with a very obscure grape in a region that is known mostly for cheese and skiing, but Dominique's devotion to biodynamics and his decidedly "hands off" approach in the winery have won him a cult following.
Indeed his path to world wide recognition is not unlike his neighbors just to the north in the Jura, where stars like Pierre Overnoy and Jean-Francois Ganevat helped bring acclaim to an unknown region.
