Gérard

aka "GG" is a laborer in one of the vineyard I visited. He's a sweetheart with a toothy grin and quick laughter, whose precise gestures showed he'd been doing this for quite a while (his whole life, as it turns out).

GG and another guy were working a domain of about 12 ha, swiftly moving down the long rows of vines and removing extra growth from the plants to parse down the density of leaves (and avoid plant disease) and to eventually help regulate grape collection.

This domain was 100% organic and has been managed as such for about 8 years, yet last year was the first that its wine was able to put on the official "organically grown" notation on its label. If a winemaker is looking at switching the method of production, s/he has to put together paperwork declaring those intentions first, then follow a strict regimen of procedures (nothing chemical applied), and then, only the fourth harvest after that can be deemed 'organic.

What most excites domain owner Jean-Marie Bechtold is that every year, there is a new birth, and you never quite know before hand what you'll get. You might see there's potential, but you won't find out for sure until the grapes are picked and into the press. His face lit up as he said: "my job is to make sure I produce a belle cuvée!"