Working the Vines at Domaine de Cambis
In Berlou, on the schist hillsides of the Haut-Languedoc, the work in the vineyard at Domaine de Cambis is the culmination of more than 20 years of family commitment to a form of winegrowing that respects living things.
More than 20 years of preparing for organic farming
Agriculture Biologique (certified organic farming) at Domaine de Cambis is not a passing trend: it is a goal the Perolari family has been pursuing since 2002.
When Annick and Alfred Perolari, Martin's parents, acquired the estate in 2002, their ambition was clear: to convert to organic farming, or even to biodynamics. They tried from the moment they arrived. But the vines, unaccustomed to such a radical change, could not keep up. An abrupt switch would have been damaging, both to the plants and financially.
Common sense therefore led them to wait. More than ten years were devoted to preparing the ground. This essential phase consisted of:
- Giving up certain plots that were too dangerous
- Replanting other parcels
- Restructuring the vineyard: changing the tractor rows, training the vines on wires, removing the large stones and rocks that prevented mechanical tools such as the inter-vine weeder from passing through
- Reducing the use of plant protection products drastically, to gradually accustom the vines to greater self-sufficiency
This decade of transition allowed the vines to regain vigour and resilience. When the official conversion began in the summer of 2018, the vineyard was ready.
Certified organic since 2021
Three years after the official start of the conversion, Domaine de Cambis obtained Agriculture Biologique certification for the 2021 vintage. Every wine produced since that date carries the official AB logo and the European organic logo.
All of the estate's vines are today under certified organic farming. This is the culmination of a long road begun well before organic farming became fashionable, in a family spirit of respect for living things.
A living vineyard
Martin sees the result of this work every day in his plots. The vines have never been as alive as they have in recent years. They are teeming with insects and animals: earthworms in the soils, bees foraging in the surrounding scrubland.
This restored biodiversity is the sign of a living soil, of a balance regained.
A hillside vineyard
The Domaine de Cambis vineyard is nestled in the Rieu Berlou valley, between 250 and 400 metres above sea level. The plots are small and scattered like a mosaic, sometimes on steeply sloping hillsides. This rugged topography, so characteristic of Berlou, means that work on certain plots is largely done by hand.
Precious old vines
The estate grows the traditional grape varieties of the Languedoc, perfectly suited to the Berlou terroir: Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre for the reds; Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Roussanne and Viognier for the whites.
Some plots are old, sometimes a hundred years old. These old vines produce little, but they give grapes of exceptional concentration and finesse — they are the foundation of our finest cuvées.