Adventures in Extreme Winemaking: A Visit w/ Domaine du Traginer

Opportunities to meet legends like Jean-François of Domaine du Traginer are rare ones; and so, when we were offered the opportunity to host this winemaking icon on Marathon Monday, it was a resounding HECK YES (traffic be damned!).

Domaine du Traginer lies across the steep schist upper slopes of Banyuls sur Mer in Southwest France, where the Pyrenees Mountains meet the Mediterranean. This is literally winemaking at the ends of the earth; some of their vines hang from cliffs over the sea.

Biodynamic since 1997, the vineyards have a very low yield that's getting even lower with the lack of rain over the last few years, due to climate change. Jean Francois says, "Ça fait pleurer," (it makes you cry) when talking about how the local area and his vines are suffering from years of drought.

The history of the Traginer farm goes back generations, and Jean Francois aims to follow the ancestral traditions in their purest form. Accordingly, part of the vineyard is still ploughed with the help of a mule, guided by his ‘Tragineur’—the Catalan term for a muleteer. This is, after all, old Catalonia, just 4 km from the Spanish border. Anicet, Jean-François’s uncle, was the last ‘Tragineur’ in Banyuls, as well as the most famous. Here, winemaking is all about letting nature take its course.

Banyuls and its near neighbour Collioure are ancient appellations, and the traditional wines have a beautiful rustic, authenticity to them. Traginer's wines are considered by many to be the best in the region, and there's a characteristic freshness that comes from the old and unique placement of their estate between the mountains and the sea.

Great wine very often reflects the personality of the producer, and that's certainly the case here. Like his wines, Jean Francois is full of personality; rustic and honest. He's a farmer first and foremost, and he talks about his wines with honesty, sincerity and charm.

Please join us for what promises to be an extraordinary evening with extraordinary wines!

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