Domaine Longère

Domaine Longère is situated in the beautiful region of Beaujolais, south of Burgundy. The estate is split almost evenly between the adjacent villages of Perréon and Vaux-en-Beaujolais. Vaux-en-Beaujolais was the inspiration for the fictional town of Clochemerle in the 1934 satirical novel “Clochemerle” by Gabriel Chevallier. The region within the Beaujolais Villages appellation has been referred to as “Little Tuscany.”

Jean Luc Longère was born and raised in the heart of Beaujolais at Vaux en Beaujolais and is the sixth generation of vintners in his family on his mother’s side. Longere translates to ‘piece of fabric’ and honors his father’s family who were weavers. He took over the estate and its historic 1845 house in 1988 and operates it with his wife, Régine, and their daughter Lisa.

He considers himself a “wine artisan” and is the first in his family to sell wine directly to consumers from his manageable five-hectare estate. “I chose to keep the Domaine small,” he says.

The vineyard, at approximately 450 meters in elevation, is open to the south and southeast and is spread out between the sloping foothills of the Beaujolais mountains. Soils are granitic with blue stones. Wines are bottled on the estate with a production of approximately 30,000 per year.

Respectful of his family’s heritage and with concern for the environment, Jean Luc strives to maintain a natural balance of environmental diversity for the plants and animals of the area. He follows sustainable and cultural practices aimed at obtaining grapes and quality wine with limited human intervention throughout the ecosystem. The estate was among the first to be certified by Terra Vitis. Harvesting is by hand and is performed by about 20 villagers who join in to share the work, some meals, and in the evenings, some music, camaraderie, and no doubt, some wine.