GAEC des Frères Bertrand

My brother Thomas and I began working in the vineyards of our uncle, Jean-François Ginglinger, in Alsace in the mid-2010s. It was there that we both discovered a shared passion for the vine. We decided to leave our previous professions to fully dedicate ourselves to a new project: making wine. We both completed a BTS in viticulture and oenology to build a solid technical foundation, and then gained experience working with several inspiring winemakers — Thomas with Adrien De Mello and Jean-Christophe Garnier, and myself with Jacques Février and Mark & Martial Angéli, among others. During this time, we came across a small vineyard for sale in the hills above Rochefort-sur-Loire: 4.5 hectares of productive vines, previously farmed by Liv Vincendeau. The plot includes 0.5 hectares of Grolleau Noir and 4 hectares of Chenin Blanc. An additional 0.27 hectares of Pinot Noir will be added for the 2025 harvest. The youngest vines (Grolleau) are about 10 years old, while our Chenin parcels range from 20 to 85 years old. We officially acquired the vineyard in July 2024 and harvested our first vintage that October. In the cellar, our approach is minimal intervention. We work without any additives — not even sulfur. Each parcel is vinified separately (4 Chenin Blanc and 1 Grolleau Noir), using fiberglass tanks and barrels. All our wines are now dry, and the final bottlings took place in early July. In the vineyard, we work the soils manually and use no synthetic chemicals — only copper and sulfur for plant treatments when needed. The domaine has been certified organic and biodynamic (Demeter) since 2014, and we’ve chosen to maintain organic certification.