Nicolas Badel
Rhône, France

Nicolas Badel, unlike his neighbors, is not a descendant of a family of vine growers. For seven years, Nicolas worked in an office of Architects. The desire to work the vine however grew and imposed itself. He decided to change career directions and acquired vineyards for rent with his cousin Sylvain Badel. For two years, they continued their daily trades as well as that of viticulture, on Fridays and Saturdays.

Nicolas planted his own vines in 2008 and had his first harvest in 2010. He is now finally working full time in the subject he is passionate about. The estate consists of nearly seven hectares of vines, three of which are planted in Vernanne, (Marsanne and Syrah), and four hectares in Limony, (Viognier and Syrah), to produce white and red in the appellation of St. Joseph and Condrieu. Everything is grown organically, and there was no need for conversion on the land of Vernosc, as it had been unexploited long enough.

This small sized vineyard allows him to be precise in his work. He masters the various techniques of: adapted grassing, tillage in the rows, green harvesting and the stimulation of the vines own immune defenses. The grapes then benefit from a constant accompaniment until bottling.

In the cellar, the work is minimalist, rigorous and mastered. Only indigenous yeasts are used and no synthetic products are added with the exception of a small amount of sulfur at bottling. The love that the winemaker invests every day in his work is clearly reflected in his wines.