Philippe Grisard

Phillipe studied wine in the heart of Burgundy in Beaune and then worked in for 2 decades in the family winery and vine nursery of Domaine Grisard.  Multitalented he was winemaker and responsible for vine sales in the nursery!

It was while travelling through other wine growing areas securing sales for the nursery that he dawned on him that Savoie had the perfect climate and terroir for growing grapes.

In 2010, he had the opportunity to take over his own winery and has set about living his own dream! He focuses on indigenous Savoie varietals and sustainability in the vineyard rather than full blown organic certification.

Harvesting is a labour-intensive operation with all of it by hand and often several passes through the vineyard required to catch the grapes at the optimal level of ripeness.

Fans of unusual grapes should seek out his Mondeuse Blanche, a real rarity. There are only between 5 and 10 hectares left (thankfully this is increasing again) and Philippe has just over a hectare of this.

It produces wines that are dry, have a good weight and crystalline freshness  with herbal notes. It’s also the mother of one of the greatest red wine grapes, Syrah and a has a parent offspring relationship to Viognier! It’s no coincidence that it survived just up the side valleys that eventually merge into the Rhône.