Winery Notes

Pierre-Lazare Ponnelle founded his winery and vineyards in 1870. He developed his business successfully while conducting a number of research projects looking at wine-making processes and understanding fermentation. This led him to collaborate with Louis Pasteur, who at the time lived in Dôle, near Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy.  Today, his great-great-grandson Louis manages the Maison... the fifth generation to work the vineyards and cellars.  Ponnelle owns vineyards in various Cote de Beaune appellations, and vinifies wine from purchased fruit from several Cote de Nuits vineyards as well.

Vineyard work is done the same way it was done before mechanization and chemical treatments started being used. Hardly any fertilizers are used in the vineyards apart from a little manure. No weed killers are used in order to promote biodiversity; existing plants provide sufficient organic material. The vineyards are plowed using horses, the use of heavy machinery is avoided not to compact the soil.