Domaine De L’Atrie La Pepee a delightful witchy white

Winemaker: Elise Hamant
Grapes: Grolleau Gris
Playful yet all encompassing of the place it comes from, rose nectar, orange blossoms and white clay, delightful yet mysterious 
Elise Hamant spent a full decade working in vineyard agriculture before beginning her own domaine, ‘Les Vignes de l’Atrie’ in 2017. She holds claim to the only vines in the commune of Aizenay, in the Vendée département. Elise tends to 4 hectares of indigenous Loire varietals—after converting the estate to all organics—which include the ethereally playful Grolleau Gris and Noir, planted to sandy loam with granite, schist, and some mica. She also firmly believes in the importance of biodiversity and holistic treatments in the vineyard; she uses manure tinctures, specifically with nettle and comfrey, to encourage soil health, as well as horsetail and yarrow preparations to keep things cool in summer. Elise also owns sheep that she puts to work in the winter, to help fertilize the soils with their organic matter and to trim the grass in preparation for spring. Everything is harvested manually, with natural vinifications and only sparing amounts of SO2 when necessary.