Domaine Drouet, Loire, France

DOMAINE DROUET; TRADING HOUSE SINCE 1880

The Drouet Frères company (1880) is one of the oldest trading houses in the Nantes district . Initially, sales focused on trading in bulk wines. When the region was promoted to appellation d'origine contrôlée in 1938, the company strategy changed and sales focused exclusively on the production and sale of Muscadet. In 1950, the company came into the hands of the two grandsons, Jacques and Jean . From that moment on, it was called Drouet Frères. The third generation, Jean Philippe Drouet, took over the management in 1981. He decided to hand over the commercial branch of the company in order to devote himself entirely to his passion: winemaking and vineyard management. He strives to make wine with a clear expression of terroir. By means of environmentally friendly winemaking without the use of chemical pesticides. The house is affiliated with the Terra Vitis organisation. In 2007, Drouet Frères acquired the distribution company Antoine Subileau , based in Vallet. A significant part of the production consists of generic Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie.

THE GARDEN OF FRANCE

The Loire Valley is home to 63 appellations and runs from the Atlantic coast at Muscadet in Pays Nantais to the eastern marl areas of Sancerre in the Upper Loire. Pays Nantais is the largest white wine region in France. Anjou is the region of Chenin Blanc. The Upper Loire mainly produces Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Many " natural " wines are produced in the Loire Valley , which do not use pesticides or artificial fertilizers. A dearest wish of every winemaker. Harvesting is done by hand and preference is given to natural yeasts instead of factory yeasts. The Loire Valley is the heart of France. The nickname of the region is ' Le Jardin de la France ': the garden of France. This is also the name of the IGP of this region. The wine production in the Loire Valley is largely in the hands of families: there are 13,000 independent winegrowers. About 11,000 of them own less than 10 hectares of land. There are fifteen cooperatives and forty registered traders .