Domaine Barou

Northern Rhone

Emmanuel Barou's grandfather established the family farm outside Charnas, in a remote area of the Ardèche in 1928. His goal was to create a self sustaining farm, and the family grew all their own produce and raised their own animals, selling off whatever excess they had. Later, Emmanuel's father Alexis took over the farm, and continued to raise dairy cows, tend peach and apricot orchards, and grow grapes. In 1971, Alexis took the risk of a total conversion to organic farming. At the time, a market for organic produce did not exist in France, so until 1983 he continued to sell his organic produce to conventional wholesalers, and at conventional prices despite much lower yields!

In 1997, after studying viticulture and oenology in Orange and Avignon, Emmanuel took over the family domaine and oriented the exploitation towards viticulture. This specialization resulted in the planting of new plots in AOC Saint-Joseph and Condrieu AOC, and the renovation of an old barn into a new chai. Today, the domaine consists of 7 hectares of Vin de Pays vines on the granite soils around Charnas, and 3 hectares in nearby Limony of AOC St Joseph and Condrieu. Since 2013, the domaine has been practicing biodynamic methods

WINES