Douzens is a little village of fewer than 800 inhabitants, strung out along what was once the main road between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in the south of France. Now it’s distinguished for wine lovers as being, most unusually, home to four certified organic wine growers who all get along with each other swimmingly.
I pointed out the rarity of this co-operative spirit to the rather serious Jean-Pierre Py (pronounced “pee”) who runs the biggest of the four enterprises, Domaine Py, and for the first time during our encounter he smiled and agreed. “Yes, and it’s super! In other villages, they think other producers are competitors.” I wondered whether it was a question of terroir or personalities. “Both,” he said firmly.
Every Wednesday evening at the little fête in the village square, they take it in turns to supply the wine. Adrian Moréno of Domaine Régazel can bring his bottles by hand. His slightly ramshackle barn of a winery is just around the corner from the square. He told me how when his wine press broke down on the first day of the 2022 harvest, all his fellow vignerons rang him to offer the use of their press. Meanwhile, Jennifer Buck and Didier Ferrier of Colline de l’Hirondelle, at the eastern end of the village, routinely use Moréno’s pneumatic press for their white wines.