The Moulin a Vent A.O.C. (Appellation d’Origine Controlee) was created in 1924 but there have been vineyards on our hillsides since the 1st century during the Roman invasion. In the 15th century a windmill was built on top of the hill overlooking the town of Romaneche-Thorins. It became and still is the majestic emblem of our appellation. The vineyards were planted East-South East, a perfect exposure since they benefit from the morning sun.
The soil is composed of pink brittle granite. The vineyards in Moulin a Vent are indeed adjacent to the eastern side of the Massif Central mountain range. This particular soil comes from the Hercynian fold that took place during the Paleozoic era, about 250 million years ago.

Vineyard roots penetrate those rock fragments in order to extract minerals that are lodged within the bedrock. This is where the manganese seams can be found and where the typical aromas of violet and iris found in Moulin a Vent wines originate.
Up until the beginning of the 20th century mines were present in Romaneche-Thorins and manganese seams were extracted to be later shipped to Lyon via the Saone River and used in the manufacturing of solid alloys.

 

These very poor soil conditions are ideal to obtain a high quality wine from the Gamay varietal, which tends to be a vigorous grape with high production yields. Incidentally, this terroir enables the Gamay grape to unleash its aromas to their full potential. Every year, various juices are analyzed and the results show that, compared to the surrounding areas, juices that come from the Moulin a Vent region have the highest levels of polyphenols. Because of this particular soil and climate the Moulin a Vent aging process is unusual: after a few years the wine “pinote”, meaning its aromas resemble those of a Pinot Noir.

our wines

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