Les Athletes du Vin Pineau d'Aunis 2024

Les Athlètes du Vin is a négociant label created by Vini Be Good, a collective of Loire Valley winemakers who joined together to produce a range of accessibly priced, terroir-driven wines from across the region. The project was designed to give wines from lesser-known Loire varieties and appellations a unified platform, reaching consumers who might not otherwise encounter them. Each wine in the lineup is produced by a member of the Vini Be Good network, either from their own vineyards or from fruit sourced from neighboring growers they know and trust, working under the same set of principles that govern their own estates.

The Vini Be Good collective includes some of the Loire's most respected natural and organic producers. Among the members and collaborators associated with the project are Dominique Joseph of Les Petits Saint Vincent, Catherine and Pierre Breton of Domaine Breton, Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves, Fred Niger of Domaine de l'Écu, Evelyne de Pontbriand of Domaine de Closel, and Matthieu Vallée of Château Yvonne, among others. Several of the Les Athlètes du Vin cuvées, including the Pineau d'Aunis, are vinified by Gérard Vallée, brother of Matthieu Vallée of Château Yvonne. All members share a commitment to sustainable and organic farming and minimal-intervention winemaking.

The wines carry labels illustrated by Michel Tolmer, a French artist and cartoonist who has been closely connected to the French natural wine movement since the 1990s, designing labels and artwork for producers across the Loire and beyond. The illustrations give the range a consistent visual identity while reflecting the informal, community-driven spirit behind the project.

The goal of Les Athlètes du Vin is straightforward: to make honest, typical wines from the Loire at a price point that encourages regular drinking rather than special-occasion restraint.

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Touraine is a large wine appellation in the central Loire Valley, in the Indre-et-Loire and Loir-et-Cher departments of west-central France. It is considered the heart of the Loire, positioned roughly midway between the Atlantic coast and the region's eastern reaches, with the city of Tours at its center. The appellation covers around 5,000 hectares across 104 communes and produces an unusually broad range of styles: dry whites, still and sparkling reds, and rosés, from a wide palette of indigenous varieties.

The Loire River and its tributaries, including the Cher and the Vienne, shape both the landscape and the mesoclimates across the zone. The climate is temperate and oceanic, with mild winters, warm summers, and enough rainfall to support viticulture without irrigation. The valley's position, sheltered by gentle hills and forests, moderates temperature extremes and contributes to the Loire's reputation for producing wines with freshness and relatively restrained alcohol levels compared to more southerly French regions.

Soils in Touraine are diverse. Tuffeau, a soft limestone typical of the Loire, is widespread and forms the underlying geology across much of the zone. Clay is common in the areas between river valleys, while chalk, flint, and sandy alluvial soils appear in different sectors. For Pineau d'Aunis specifically, clay-limestone combinations are considered ideal, providing the drainage and moderate fertility the variety needs to develop its characteristic aromatic profile without losing acidity.

Pineau d'Aunis occupies a small but historically significant role in Touraine's vineyard. Once more widely planted, it was gradually sidelined after phylloxera in favor of higher-yielding varieties, shrinking to around 430 to 450 hectares across the Loire today. The variety is now concentrated in Touraine, Coteaux du Vendômois, Anjou, and Saumur, where a renewed interest from organic and natural producers has begun to restore its place in the regional conversation.