Emmanuel Giboulot

Emmanuel Giboulot, you’ve probably heard of him by now. He’s the winemaker who became famous for refusing to treat his vines with pesticides, and as a result was convicted and fined in court – a conviction he successfully appealed and overturned. The estate was inherited from his father who had already converted to organic viticulture in the 1970s. Emmanuel, who originally wanted to become an actor, has now fully assimilated the tenets and traditions of his agricultural heritage: besides his 10 hectares of vines, the vigneron continues to farm 80 hectares of grain. He started converting his vineyards over to biodynamics in 1985, making him one of practice’s pioneers in Burgundy. The estate has grown through time and seized opportunities, so much that the estate, like many others, now produces wines from several appellations, including Saint Romain, Côte-de-Beaune, and Hautes-Côtes-de-Nuits. In the vineyard, Manu tills his soils, practices meticulous green pruning, makes his own compost, and scorns chemicals. In the cellar, he vinifies with the indigenous yeasts and only adds a small dose of sulphites at bottling. His aim is to simply stabilise his wines, which are destined for ageing and for traveling – for his bottles are exported to the four corners of the world.