In Praise for slowness.

The project is the result of a long reflection, like the time it takes for the selected musts to reveal the product. The first production was launched in 2012. Extensive trials, based on local wines, tested on family and friends. The idea soon germinates to cultivate the vine and to vinify their own grapes, not to be limited to processing. If this guarantees the traceability of the product, the concept is very current and laudable, Cécile speaks more willingly of complete mastery, from the raw material to the finished product, from the ground to the plate. A form of rigour and stubbornness in scrupulously producing vinegar with sough-after taste qualities.

The winemaker takes the time. It takes patience to accompany these slow transformations, to correct sometimes the missteps, to magnify the discoveries. Months, years. But excellence is at this price. And we would not consider launching a product on the market which has not reached the highest standard. We are at the opposite end of the spectrum from the homogenized production of industrial products.

Particular care is taken on the vine and its fruits.

In this same search for quality, Cécile guarantees her vinegars without added aroma, additives and preservatives (such as sulphites). The richness of the flavours can be explained more simply, or more naturally: beautiful fruit grown with care, know-how, research, and time, a lot of time.

Each vintage is Handcrafted

“The craftsman takes his time.”

Quality and traceability.

The property enjoys this quality terroir. This is where the best grape clusters are selected to make prenium vinegars. The whole process is done at the harvest site. The primary objective is to follow and master each step, from planting the vine to filling the bottle. The vinegars are sold directly from the property and/or offered to a clientele of gastronomy/restaurant professionals.

Like the wines and nearby Armagnacs, the vinegars of the Domaine de l’Airial are vintage. Coquetry or artifice? Absolutely not. The benchmark is essential because it allows us to judge the evolution and aging of vinegar in relation to the climatic conditions of the harvest year. Indeed, the winemaker, subject to the seasonal cycles of the vine and the vagaries of the climate, constantly composes and adapts to the local environment. And if the results vary each year, the winemaker remains uncompromising as regards the production process, the quality of the finished product and prefers to assume that a vintage is not, or no longer available.