In 1950 Etienne Gonnet created Font de Michelle with vines planted across 30 hectares of adjoining land. Etienne sold his wine to negociants and hoped to bottle his own wine some day but would never live to see his dream become a reality. In 1975, following Etienne’s untimely death, his sons Jean and Michel took control of the estate. They wanted to create full-bodied wines that were concentrated, refined and showcased the qualities of the terroir. Throughout the next 30 years, Jean and Michel achieved their goal and also received many accolades and medals for their wines.

 

In 2006, it was time to pass the family’s estate and traditions on to their own sons, Bertrand and Guillaume, who also shared their family’s passion for winemaking. They had both completed studies in oenology, and further expanded upon their technical knowledge with time working and living in Bordeaux, Burgundy, New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

 

Today, Bertrand and Guillaume proudly continue their fathers’ legacy by producing wine in their style, but are also making their own mark. They have enhanced the elegance and style of the wine via their commitment to understanding the terroir in terms of how it affects the ripening process and introducing improvements to the production process. After recently expanding their land holdings to include additional lieu dit, the Gonnet family decided to rebrand their Domaine Font de Michelle, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines under their family brand Font du Vent.

 

An important initiative for the winery was the natural shift to organic agriculture. The domaines Font de Michelle and Font du Vent had been operating organically for years, so it was a logical next step to apply for organic certification. Their vines have been in the family for over four generations, and organic farming signifies their commitment to passing on healthy vineyards to the next generation. Within their vineyards, co-planting is common, which is important to the Gonnet family. They are also incorporating more Biodynamic principles into their viticulture, but do not currently plan on pursuing certification.

 

After hand harvesting, fruit is sorted twice - once in the vineyard and then again when it arrives at the domaine. All wines are produced via native yeast. Vinification is entirely gravity-fed and the wine is treated gently from the start. They pump over by hand, only once a day, always keeping the fruit and complexity in mind.

 

In 2006, the brothers began to separate the plots during the vinification process in order to observe the differences in how the wines age, as well as identify strengths and weaknesses. They also changed the aging process of some of the wines, using more stainless steel tanks, and demi muids (600 L barrels) to age the Grenache.

 

Font de Vent is made up of five parcels - Font de Michelle, La Crau, La Pierre Plantée, Chartreuse and Croix de Bois. Domaine Font de Michelle received organic certification in 2013.