Francois Villard
While some vignerons are born into the business of winemaking, Francois Villard, trained as a chef, let his palate and natural curiosity guide him into it. With help from legendary Rhone vigneron Yves Cuilleron, he taught himself the craft of winemaking, and planted his first vines in 1989. Today, he makes wine from 64 hectares, of which he owns 40 hectares, purchasing fruit from the balance. Villard farms sustainably, hoping to be certified organic by 2022. In the meantime, he works his soils and uses organic fertilizers and organic treatments for disease as needed. He’s working with spontaneous fermentations and has begun experiments with making wine with very minimal sulfur during vinification, which he plans to expand on in the coming years. Although he has no intention of eliminating sulfur altogether and plans to continue to use a minimum amount of sulfur at bottling.
