Alain Voge
Domaine Alain Voge has been credited with returning the Northern Rhône appellations of Cornas and Saint-Péray to the international wine scene. Their impressive Syrahs, wonderful Marsanne whites and pithy sparkling wines have found world-wide favour thanks to Alain Voge’s impressive foresight. Alain planted vines at high altitude, in vineyards which had previously been declassified into Côtes du Rhône blends. Maturity and the influence of a warming climate resulted in Cornas Les Chailles - one of the estate’s signature wines. He spent time learning about wines from other regions, spending time in Dijon tasting widely, and buying used Burgundy barrels to age the Marsanne for his Saint-Péray. He sadly passed away in the Autumn of 2020, but from the time he took control of the domaine at the age of 26 until his retirement, he worked tirelessly to protect and restore the vine growing heritage of Cornas. Since 2016 all 13 hectares of his Syrah and Marsanne vines have been certified organic. When Alain retired, he passed all day-to-day running responsibilities to Albéric Mazoyer, formerly of Maison Chapoutier, and then, from 2018, onto Lionel Fraisse. Thanks to their hard work, the ethos of Alain’s domaine remains unchanged.