The vineyard
Pégairolles de l’Escalette is a particularly original vineyard. Terraces have contributed to stabilizing the scree that comes from the Larzac and the soil has been improved through arduous work of stone removal. This titanic undertaking, carried through with the strength of bare hands by generations of peasant-builders, has left its mark on the entire landscape.

The horizontality of the little walls is made with vertical piles of stones called clapas, creating a geometric meshing of the slopes. The terraced vineyard is a brake to the mechanization of grape-harvesting and mass production. Here, work in the vineyard has remained mainly traditional. The addition of very small plots of land guarantees the production of naturally-produced wines, without conceding to fashion and trends.

The winery
The winery was created in 1927 by a small group of wine-growers.
It was one of the first wineries to be built in the 20th century in the Hérault. Already present in the valley in 1795, in 1885 the vineyard covered 6 hectares and by 1894 it increased to 72 hectares.
In 1929, a red wine from the winery received a High Diploma of Honour at the Lodève competition-exhibition. The winery was extended in 1939, in 1969, then in 1991, but in terms of building surfaces, production and number of wine-growers it remains the smallest winery in the Hérault. It will celebrate its 100th year in 2027 !

The wine-producers
The wine-producers of Pégairolles cultivate their small plots under no recognised label; but it is now more than 10 years since they have become aware of their environment. They have adopted “sustainable viniculture” in their use of chemicals and weed-killers, not much used as the valley is very windy and does not allow mildew (vine disease) to develop, and the high altitude is not conducive to the disease called “vert de la grappe” (rottenness), which is non existent.

Finally, the region is covered by 10 to 20 centimetres of scree from the Larzac (small lime-stone) which naturally protects the soil from weeds. Nowadays, the President of the winery, Patrick COMPAN, supervises around thirty wine-producers who cultivate 70 hectares giving 3 500 hectolitres of wine.
These same wine-producers get together every year to store 960 bottles in the Grotte de Labeil (caves) for ageing, and remove as much from the previous year. It’s a painstaking task as the cave is only accessible on foot !