The lovely petite Domaine in Southern France under philosophy of biodiversity

One of the most interesting discoveries in my last wine trip in France took place in a little town named Gimios, located in Languedoc of Southern France, where I was welcomed by Pierre Lavaysse, who along with his mother – Anne Marie Lavaysse – created the Domaine in the early 1990s.


The first thing of the tour before checking out the vineyards was feeding his cow (with apples!) who was roaming in the bushes. It took him some time to summon the cow when it’s nowhere to be seen, which somehow reminded me of the Dinosaur-feeding scene in Jurassic Park(1993)! For him, being Integrated with the animal is beneficial to the vineyards as a part of the eco-system. Further up onto the top of hill are the vineyards at 300m above sea level, while a canyon-like deep cleft is within sight. In the past the place was under the sea and fossil remains can be found in the region. The vines were abandoned in the past until acquired and restored by Anne Marie, many of them up to 100 years old or more.