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Producing without destroying the living or harming mankind, using the simplest and healthiest means

This ideal of production is inspired by a text from the philosopher and agro- ecologist Pierre Rabhi known for his movement “Earth and Humanism”.

It’s this ideal we aspire to. As such, we tend our vines according to principles of organic agriculture, following a moral logic and respect for the environment. Chemicals are banned from our work as they create a vicious circle of dependency for the plant. Working in this way requires a greater investment of labour, time and energy, and also calls for a higher level of risk-taking compared to conventional wine-making.

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Living from our work by respecting who and what surrounds us.

Grapes are handpicked and vinified in the most natural way possible, which isn’t to say without intervention: quite the opposite. We work meticulously in both the vineyard and cellar in order to eschew the use of chemicals and harsh machinery often turned to automatically in conventional wine-making to reduce the risk of production loss. We try to stay as close as possible to the grape itself and what it brings us naturally.
We simply want to work following an ethic we hold dear, the pillars of which are: Health – Ecology – Enjoyment – Quality – Humanity – Sustainability.

Historic

Domaine Bobinet started in 2002, when Sebastien took over 1.8 hectares of vines and the cellar from his maternal grandparents. He’s the 7th generation of a family of winemakers in Dampierre-sur-Loire, part of the region of Saumur.

Choosing to grow organically and vinify naturally, without chemicals, was beyond question, especially under the influence of Anjou-based wine- maker, Olivier Cousin.

To begin with, Sebastien grew 1.5 hectares of Cabernet-Franc and 0.3 hectare of Chenin Blanc, handpicking his grapes then vinifying and ageing them in his cellar, which is carved into tuffeau (limestone) of the riverbanks of Saumur. The resulting wines became Amateus Bobi and Echalier.

In 2007 Sebastien’s interest in carbonic maceration led him to Bernard Pontonnier who helped him better understand this method of winemaking, which he himself had learnt from Jules Chauvet, Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard and many others during his time as a restauranteur in Paris. Bernard was, afterall, one of the first to introduce natural wine onto his lists. Together, Sebastien and Bernard made Greta Carbo with the fruit from a single, small plot.
Then came the time to expand and diversify: Sebastien took over 2 hectares of Cabernet Franc in 2010 and started buying Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay and Cot to experiment with using different grapes. Du Rififi a Beaulieu was born!

In 2011, his partner Emeline Calvez, a trained sommelière, joined him in the domaine. Together they created Ruben with new vines bought in 2010. Their collaboration gave a new dimension to the domaine which continued to grow and strengthen, all the while striving towards a sustainable and ethical practice. Then came Hanami and Piak!

In 2015 they expanded, acquiring a building that they turned into a stockroom, offices and a tasting room.