Ternats own wine!

The first winery opened in Ternat! Owned by Aoshiga and his company. We wanted to ask him a few exclusive questions. Read his interesting answers below!

Tell us about your winery. "The Yellow Hill Wine Cooperative" is a former cooperative founded in 1853 by local winemakers. The goal was to pool the harvests in order to provide a global income, shared between the different members of the cooperative. This mutual aid system made it possible to provide a larger volume of wine for the market, and to help those who doesn't have the proper equipment. With the arrival of Phylloxera in 1869, a pest insect, all the vineyards were destroyed and the cooperative had to cease its activity. It was not until 50 years later that vines were replanted on the region's slopes, in particular by individuals and small local producers. However, obscured by the large neighbouring appellations, the wines, and therefore the production of Yellow Hill, have remained unknown to the general public. It is only with the new plantings carried out by the investors that the region sees the rebirth of its vineyard of yesteryear. Orion decided to rebuild this cooperative in order to help our local producers to vinify their crops. Moreover, by including its own distribution centre, the cooperative has the possibility of easily collecting the surrounding grape production, as well as distributing the bottles produced internationally.

What‘s the name of your wine?

The vineyard of our collaborator being very recent, it is necessary to wait 3 years to start the first harvester. But we have many partnerships with other local producers, and our cellar is in the process of assembling its first grape, a red wine entitled "Dure labeur", or hard work in english, a Poulsard, a French wine grape. In the same time, we will sell a blend of red grape variety named "Se Kwa Sa?", a phonetic name for "what is this?", as our visitor often ask the composition. We will also sell a 100% Savagnin, entitled "Star of the golden hill" in 8 month. We hope to soon be able to open our cellar for the pleasure of the taste buds of our visitors!

Where will I be able to try all these wines?

At the moment, unfortunately, we have no collaboration with a bar or restaurant. We hope to open a collaboration, or why not our own wine bar, as soon as possible! However, we have a tasting room in our cellar. It is open every day of the week on request, and all day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

What would you say is so special about your wine?

I think the wine created by our cooperative is very special because it is created in collaboration with many small organic farmers. Each terroir, each winegrower has its specificities, its knowledge, and creates a unique grape. Mixing them all together gives us a taste of each other's work. This is why our product is so special. It is not done by one, but by all!