Domaine Derain - Julien Altaber & Carole Shwab, Domique Derain
Born in 1955 at the Hospices de Beaune, after a good Burgundian career and chaotic studies, Dominique moved after 5 years of cooperage to the profession of winegrower. Memories of time shared with his grandparents in the slopes of Saône et Loire, he dreams of making his own wine. His experience of ten years in different wine estates, allows him to acquire knowledge of culture and winemaking. It was in 1988 that the opportunity to acquire vineyard land on St-Aubin arose, the start of the current estate in the old cure in the center of the village. It is after a meeting with Maria-Thun that the option of biodynamic culture is taken and this approach is refined with the meetings. Reinforced by his experiences Dominique wants to promote the originality of Burgundy terroirs with a vinification close to pure juice (and an original culture of old vines). In Autumn: Plowing of soils with the straddle (hilling of vines). Winter: From January to March, pruning of the vines with rising sap. Traditional Guyot pruning on Chardonnay and pruning in Cordons de Royat and / or Guyot on Pinot Noir and Aligoté. Spring: Disbudding (pruning in severe green which avoids the green harvest at the end of the season), training and light plowing with the tractor. Summer: Scalding of vines, pallisage. To control grass cover, surface plowing and vacations. The method of biodynamic cultivation leads us to take into account the lunar calendar (biodynamic sowing calendar according to Maria and Mathis K. Thun) which gives rhythm to the cutural interventions of the vine. We develop herbal preparations (dandelion, oak bark, valerian, chamomile, nettles, yarrow), cow dung and silica. These preparations are energized by hand in wooden barrels open between 20 min or 1 hour depending on the preparations in the morning at sunrise to take advantage of the light or in the evening for the moon on particular days and hours according to the instructions of the moon calendar. These preparations are spread on the back of man on the vine at a rate of 30-40 liters of water / hectare either in droplets or in fog for doses varying from 4 g to 240 g / hectare.