The vineyards

• Vineyards presentation
• Crozes-Hermitage
• Hermitage
• Saint-Joseph

The vineyards  /  Vineyards presentation

Domaine HABRARD manages a vineyard with a surface area of around 15 hectares,
spread over 3 appellation areas.

Although the winery is located in Gervans, at the heart of Crozes-Hermitage, Domain HABRARD grows vines over three different appellation areas:

The Crozes-Hermitage appellation, the major part of the area worked.

The Hermitage appellation, Domaine HABRARD’s jewel in the crown.

The Saint-Joseph appellation, the family’s new born baby.

Because of its presence over these 3 high quality wine appellations (“crus”) areas in the Northern Côtes du Rhône, Domaine HABRARD is able produce very varied wines. Not due to the grapes varieties which are identical in the 3 appellation areas, but due to the characteristics of each "terroir".

A large part of the vineyards is located in areas of sharp slopes where mechanical work is nearly or entirely impossible. Man very often has to replace the tractor to carry out sometimes long and tedious tasks. But this means that jobs are carried out with thought, care and precision.

Did you know that during one growing season each vine plant is manually handled between 5 and 9 times? A one hectare plot contains around 7000 vine trucks. The number of manual operations for each hectare of vineyard is therefore between 35,000 and 63,000 per year! And that’s without taking into account the working of the soil, the upkeep of the vine training and the treatments...This is all important to grasp to better understand the work of the wine producer, and therefore the wine itself. This is why, very specifically, I follow the seasons and the work in the vineyards, to show you, through various video clips, everything that lies behind a bottle of wine.
Basically it entails a great deal of time, work and effort which you may never have suspected but which you may certainly be very interested in hearing about…

« The wine producer only transforms the grape into wine. Only the vine can be credited for the complexity and richness of our wines ».

It’s for this reason that Domaine HABRARD has set itself the ambitious objective of converting all of its vineyards to organic farming from 2008.
Huge constraints will have to be overcome, especially for working the soil in particularly steep or narrow plots. A real challenge for these very deserving “terroirs”, but ensuring that they can express all their character for many years to come.

The conversion in the vineyards is only one part of the challenge however. A complete review of the domain’s working methods is in hand.
For further information, please visit our "ecological commitment" page.