ADRIEN BERLIOZ

ADRIEN BERLIOZ

Savoy, France

Adrien Berlioz is a passionate winemaker based in Chignin in the Savoie region. It all began in 2006, when he created the Cellier des Cray after inheriting a few rows of vines from his grandmother, slowly building a small 6-hectare vineyard that he farms organically and biodynamically.

Today, he works about 7 hectares divided into 17 small plots, often on steep hills with clay and limestone soils. The work is demanding, but it helps produce high-quality grapes. He grows classic local varieties like Mondeuse, Jacquère, Altesse, and Roussanne, as well as rarer ones such as Persan.

Adrien treats each plot separately so every wine shows its own personality. His domaine has been organic since 2012 and biodynamic since 2020, with no chemicals used. The grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted. His wines are fresh, elegant, and easy to enjoy, with a strong sense of place.

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ADRIEN BERLIOZ'S WINES LOCATION

BACKGROUND OF NATURAL WINE IN SAVOY

Savoy is a small, mountainous region located in the French Alps, near the borders of Switzerland and Italy. This cool climate region benefits from the moderating influence of Lake Geneva and the Rhône River, creating ideal conditions for grape growing. Local grapes varieties are Jacquère and Altesse for crispy but aromatic wines; and Mondeuse for structured, spicy reds.

Organic, Biodynamic and Natural wine. What’s the difference?

To understand this concept and its various ramifications, it is necessary to keep something clear in mind: before the 20th century and the spreading of affordable synthetic fertilisers, all farming was organic. When the shift to the use of synthetics and pesticides happened, it became necessary to diversify traditional organic farming from the new modern farming. 


ORGANIC WINE

Simply put, organic farming forbids the use of synthetic fertilisers, synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or genetically modified organisms. The basic requirements are generally specific and engage the farmers not to use any chemical fertilisers and other synthetic products in the vineyard. It does not prevent the vintner from using the conventional winemaking process after harvesting. 


BIODYNAMIC WINE

Let’s take organic farming one step further: Biodynamic. The creator of this agricultural system is the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who developed the principles of biodynamics in a series of lectures given in 1924 in Germany. Here lies the foundation of true organic wines, with a strict limit in the use of additives, stringent requirements and at the end obtaining a biodynamic certification.


NATURAL WINE

The previous definitions are usually, and rightfully, associated with it, because most natural wine is also organic and/or biodynamic. But not vice versa!

Natural wine is wine in its purest form, simply described as nothing added, nothing taken away, just grapes fermented. No manipulation whatsoever, minimal intervention both in the vineyards and in the winery. Healthy grapes, natural yeast and natural fermentation, with no filtration nor fining. Sounds easy, right? However, making natural wine is unforgiving and it requires a bigger amount of work than conventional wine. To this day, natural wine has no certification yet.