Vin de France Hommage à la Canaille

In 2017, Valentin Morel planted a small vineyard to a blend of resistant hybrid grapes. These non-vinifera vines have long been considered to produce lower quality grapes than the ‘noble’ vitis vinifera vine, but Valentin worked with a local researcher to select new high quality hybrid blends that have an undeniable appeal of being resistant to diseases. Planting this vineyard and producing this wine are also a political statement, as Valentin says, “a voluntary act of resistance” against the entire phytochemical industry (both organic and non-organic) because there are no additives of any kind used in either the vineyard or during the vinification.  The label and the wine pay homage to the French rapper La Canaille, whose values of free thinking, energetic presence, and militant resistance are viewed by Valentin as a parallel to his own vision of radical winemaking, where he strives to remain independent from any outside pressures in order to be free to produce wines according to his own spirit.  The full name of the cuvée as written on the label is “Les mains dans le cambouis mais pas un genou à terre,” which are lyrics taken from the song Salle des fêtes by La Canaille. The direct translation is: “My hands in the mud but not a knee on the ground.” For Valentin, this phrase is clearly apt for any free-thinking paysan winemaker who works with their hands.