Domaine d'Aresquiers - Pierre-Yves Petit

Domaine d'Aresquiers was created in 2019 by Pierre Yves PETIT, a permaculturist and agro-ecologist.

Despite the owners having cultivated 8 hectares organically for 17 years, the soil was degraded when they took over. Passionate about agronomy, Pierre-Yves now practices permaculture to develop a new way of farming, taking nature as his model for development. Composting, mulching, letting native grasses grow, allowing sheep to graze during the winter, and planting and sowing trees and shrubs in the vineyard are some of the tools he uses to increase fertility, biodiversity, and restore the water cycle.

For Pierre Yves, switching from monoculture to agroforestry is the best way to cope with climate change. Regarding the vineyards, particular attention is paid to respecting sap flow through physiological pruning.

As a nature lover, Pierre Yves practices "natural winemaking," which he believes is the best way to achieve the best "terroir" expression in the bottle. In the 1950s, the Frontignan region was replanted with a single grape variety: Muscat Petit Grain. Traditionally, Muscat is vinified with a high alcohol content (mutage) and a lot of residual sugar, but this type of wine is now shunned by consumers.

So Pierre-Yves, aided by a seasoned winemaker colleague, decided to innovate by making Natural Sparkling Wine with an ancestral method consisting of filling the bottles with the must before the end of fermentation and letting the fermentation continue in the bottle at a cool cellar temperature to obtain fine bubbles and a subtle flavor.

Pierre-Yves also adopted the old Georgian method known as "orange wine" to vinify Muscat Petit grain, this method consists of letting the whole grapes ferment with the must as is done for red wine.

The entire vineyard is harvested by hand and the grapes are transported in 10 kg crates to respect the fruit.

The vineyard covers a total of 6.5 hectares:

• 6.5 hectares productive
• 1 hectare is planted with fruit trees (almond and olive trees).
• Average age of vines: 70 years. Soil: stony, clay-limestone, drying.
• Yield 10/15 hl/ha
• Physiological cup size
• Theoretical density of 5000 plants/ha, but many are missing.
• Cultural method: permanent grass cover or every other row
• Composting and plant shredding
• Treatment with sulfur only (¼ of the prescribed dose) or sodium bicarbonate in years of low pressure
• Hand-harvested grapes / 10 kg crates
• Harvested at 10.5/12.5 degrees of potential alcohol
• Vinification in stainless steel tanks
• Fermentation in vats for 30 days at 19 degrees Celsius
• Native yeast
• Secondary fermentation in champagne bottles for 6 months at 13 degrees Celsius
• Hand disgorging
• No added SO2 or homeopathic doses

Visits are available on Wednesdays from 2pm or by appointment at 06 51 85 77 62

Where to find the estate's wines:

In Montpellier and the surrounding area

• The Cannons
• Augusta wines by independent winemakers
• Due south
• Folle avoine shop
• The Boutonnet cellars
• The Picamandil in Puisalicon
• Aponem in Vailhan
• The Going Places in Caux

In Sète

• The Paris Mediterranean
• Nossa

In Paris and the surrounding area

• Wild
• The Orillon
• The wardrobe