Les Pieds sur Terre - Valentin Morel

To tell the story of how Domaine Les Pieds sur Terre came to be, one cannot help but digress into the philosophical. For it was far more than the old tale of family tradition and love of one’s homeland that prompted the young Valentin Morel—just a few years after earning his master’s degree in international law—to return to rural Jura and take over his father’s winery. It was the books of renowned philosophers and thinkers such as Matthew B. Crawford, Masanobu Fukuoka, and Rudolf Steiner—with their intellectual approach to craftsmanship—that inspired Valentin to trade his office for the vineyard. He wanted to work with his hands and produce something in harmony with nature—so in 2014, he returned to Poligny to take over his father Jean-Luc’s winery. Even back then, the six hectares of vineyards were farmed organically, but Valentin took it a step further toward biodynamics.

The Domaine Morel became the Les Pieds sur Terre winery—a name that translates to “having both feet firmly on the ground,” which not only expresses the winemaker’s mindset but is also meant as a tribute to the radio show of the same name on France Culture. Valentin’s fundamental philosophical approach is to produce a healthy, natural product with as little intervention as possible. In doing so, he grapples intensively with the question of what the future of viticulture might look like in the face of climate change. He recently published his thoughts on this in a book. “Un autre vin” explores the consequences for viticulture and how he addresses challenges such as heat and hail damage, fungal diseases, and pest infestations through the increased cultivation of hybrid grape varieties. However, he has earned his reputation as a fantastic winemaker primarily through his precisely structured Chardonnays and Savagnins, as well as his straightforward, elegant red wines. These wines thrive on the complex limestone and marl soils in the village of Poligny, just 10 km south of the well-known town of Arbois, and impress with their remarkable precision and depth.