Domaine Georges Vernay, Condrieu

“I liked wines from the hillsides, more than from the plains, which I found average,” declared Georges Vernay. Thanks to him, the steep abandoned hillsides of Condrieu found a new life from the 1960s. Indeed, this determined man had the genius intuition to cultivate vines on chaillées (or terraces) nicknamed rightly ” chastised from hell”. The history of the estate began in 1938 with Francis Vernay who planted his first hectare of Viognier there. Upon his arrival in 1943, Georges Vernay expanded the farm with the purchase of new plots. He opened the first regional tasting cellar and built up a loyal English clientele. From 1943 to the mid-2010s, the estate grew from 1 to 22 hectares. Since his death in May 2017, his daughter Christine continues her work by perpetuating the secular rites. The vines are conducted by hand and chemicals are banned.