I am Sylvain Leest, a winemaker in Faverolles en Berry, established since 2014, on a little over 4 ha, with a dozen grape varieties; my first vinifications took place in 2016, with two reds (Gamay and Cot/cabernet Franc/cabernet Sauvignon) and a white (Sauvignon, blended with the 2017).

The organic conversion began with the 2017 vintage, along with the frost... and so another white (Sauvignon Blanc), blended with the 2016 and a red (Gamay) cuvée from 2018, a great year, with Sauvignon Blanc, Orbois Blanc, Gamay, Cot/Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir/Gamay, and a rosé from Pineau d'Aunis, Grolleau, and Gamay... The 2019 vintage is, as I write this, still fermenting... For 2020, we're waiting for rain, like everyone else...

I work alone most of the time, except for the occasional busy period and, of course, the harvest, which is done by hand with about a dozen people. I work the soil superficially with a set of discs and a vibrating-tine cultivator. I use nettle and horsetail infusions, as well as orange peel essential oil. The wines are made primarily with indigenous yeasts and with less and less SO2 (none at all in the last four vintages).