Arpette or arpète, n. (from Arbeiter, worker). Fam., old. Young apprentice.

From mathematics to the vine, the step was taken in 2016. Aurélie Besnard and Paul Chereau's project was built little by little: from three vats in a garage to the birth of a small farm where chickens, dogs, cats, sheep and children happily frolic.

The vines have been gleaned and planted here and there, from Castelnau-de-Montmiral, where the farm is located, to Lisle-sur-Tarn for those further afield. In total, 6 hectares are farmed biodynamically, to support the biodiversity that is essential to the balance of life.

L'Arpette wines are varied and made from typical Gaillac grape varieties: mauzac, loin de l'œil, verdanel, ondenc for the whites and braucol, prunelart, duras for the reds.

In the vineyard, the grapes are harvested by hand, and in the cellar, the living character of the wine, which ferments thanks to indigenous yeasts, is sought after: no technical interventions that could alter the bacterial life, no inputs; with the exception, if necessary, of sulphites in very small quantities.