The history of the Domaine began in the mid-1970s in the commune of Banyuls-sur-Mer.

Jean-François Deu, the son of a winemaker born in the village, gradually took over from his father and founded his own “Cave Particulière” at the beginning of 1976.
Its aim is to perpetuate the wine-growing tradition of the Côte Vermeille with a constant concern to preserve the environment and ancestral Catalan practices.

From the very first years, he worked with mules to plough the land and transport the harvest to the cellar.
His uncle Anicet Deu, the last muleteer in Banyuls who remained active until the end of the 1990s, helped him in his wine-growing adventure and passed on his passion for mules to him.

He paid tribute to him by naming his “Private Cellar” Domaine du Traginer, meaning muleteer in French.

In 1997, he adopted a forward-thinking vision and became a pioneer in the ecological transition of the Cru region. In order to preserve the environment around him and cultivate living things with dignity to earn a living from his art, he obtained Organic Agriculture certification.
Along with Michel Chapoutier and Alain Castex, two other big names in the world of wine, they are the first three winegrowers on the Côte Vermeille to take this path.

At the end of the 90s, he experimented with certain principles of Biodynamics and in 2001 carried out his first vinifications without added sulfites. This was the beginning of a certain renewal in the Cru where other young, up-and-coming winemakers, borrowing a similar vision, would come to reinforce this approach over the decade.

In 2013, to formalize its convictions as a winemaker wishing to make "True" wine, the Estate obtained DEMETER certification (German label). Viticulture and vinification will now be conducted entirely in accordance with the specifications of Biodynamics.
Domaine du Traginer is the only DEMETER-certified wine estate in the Cru Collioure-Banyuls region.

Today, it has 18 hectares of vines between 5 and 80 years old planted solely in the commune of Banyuls-sur-Mer between the coast and the mountains. Yields are naturally very low, less than 20hl/h on average each year. It produces, de facto, high-end, structured and generous wines. The Domaine has two mules that help plow the land with animal traction and a flock of sheep manages the grassing in the vines during the winter season.

Jean-François DEU, surrounded by a passionate team, shares this sincere adventure with you.