For John Almansa, wine is one strand of a whole farm: he keeps sheep, makes honey and presses olive oil, and treats his old Cinsault vines as part of the same living system.
Backstory
Almansa is a young French winegrower, farmer and stockbreeder who made his first vintage in 2015. He decided to make wine to complement his other farming, founding Domaine Zou Mai, a name that translates loosely as 'Come on!'
The Region
His farm lies in the Gard, in the Languedoc of southern France. Here the warm Mediterranean climate and varied soils favor Cinsault, the variety at the heart of his work.
Vineyards and Farming
Almansa owns about 2 hectares, with Cinsault vines around 35 years old spread over small plots of clay and limestone with alluvial gravel. The entire operation follows the biodynamic calendar, from organic farming through the work in the cellar, building a synergy between the plant and animal sides of the farm.
Winemaking
Grapes are hand harvested and fermented whole cluster with wild yeasts in fiberglass, with elevage of roughly six to nine months. The wines are bottled without fining, without filtration and without added sulfites.
The Wines
His best-known cuvee is Zou Mai, a chillable, low-alcohol natural red built largely on that old-vine Cinsault.
