Terre des Dames
Terre des Dames
Terre des Dames (“Land of the Ladies”) is led by the fearless and fierce Lidewij van Wilgen (Lee). At 30, she and her husband left the world of advertising in the Netherlands to refurbish a run-down 18th century farmhouse in the Languedoc outside the medieval town of Murviel-Lès-Béziers.
When they and their three daughters moved in, both the house and the vines were in poor shape. While those were under renovations, Lee studied oenology at the local school where she faced scrutiny because she was neither French nor a man. Meanwhile, her neighbors were pressuring her to pull out the old vines, replant with high production, and spray, spray, spray. To which she adamantly refused. Oh, and she and her husband divorced, leaving her alone to tend to the farm, the house renovations, and three girls.
Thanks to her determination, Lee was one of only three students in her class of 30 to graduate, and now enjoys the concentrated, beautiful, organically grown fruit from her old vines (most between 50-70 years, with one parcel over 100).
Lee farms 14ha in total, all organic (certified 2009), and regularly reduces yields below 40hl/ha. She sorts rigorously and uses a gentle hand in the cellar. Always native yeasts, and minimal oak for aging.
