Nicolas Joly, born 1945, is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 winegrower

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 in the Loire

Loire Valley (wine)

The Loire Valley wine region includes the French wine regions situated along the Loire River from the Muscadet region near the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast to the region of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. In between are the regions of...

 wine region, and one of the pioneers and leading personalities of the biodynamic wine

Biodynamic wine

Biodynamic wines are wines made using the principles of biodynamic agriculture. Biodynamic refers to both the agricultural methods and the handling and processing of the fruit post-harvest.-Biodynamic viticulture:...

 movement.

Biography

Joly studied at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 and subsequently started to work for J.P. Morgan

J.P. Morgan & Co.

J.P. Morgan & Co. was a commercial and investment banking institution based in the United States founded by J. Pierpont Morgan and commonly known as the House of Morgan or simply Morgan. Today, J.P...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 as an investment banker. He was later posted to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, but in 1977, he left banking to take over his family's wine estate Château de la Roche aux Moines in Savennières

Savennières wine

Savennières wine is produced around Savennières in Loire Valley wine region, and the production region is situated on the north bank of the Loire River, in the Anjou-Saumur subregion...

.

At the time he took over the family estate, Joly was sceptical about modern agriculture and the effect it had on nature. He encountered a book on biodynamic farming and took an active interest in the ideas found there, and from 1980 started to experiment with them in his wine estate. From 1981, the estate's top wine Clos de la Coulée de Serrant has been made biodynamically, and from 1984, the estate's entire range has been produced biodynamically.

Joly has later written extensively on biodynamic wine production, and has served as an inspiration to many other wine producers who have converted to biodynamy.

His biodynamic convictions also means that Joly disapproves of the label "winemaker

Winemaker

A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:*Cooperating with viticulturists...

" to the extent that his business card is reported to read "Nicolas Joly, Gérant de la Société, Nature assistant and not a winemaker".

Nicolas Joly's wines

Nicolas Joly and his Château de la Roche aux Moines holds all 7 hectares (17.3 acre) of Savennières most celebrated enclave, Coulée de Serrant, which is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

of its own, Savennières-Coulée-de-Serrant. Joly's wine from this appellation is labelled Clos

Clos (vineyard)

Clos, from the French for Closure or enclosed, is a walled vineyard used to protect the grapes from theft as well as improving the mesoclimate...

de la Coulée de Serrant and is often mentioned as one of the world's best dry white wines.

The range of wines consists of:

• Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, from the appellation Savennières-Coulée-de-Serrant
  • In some vintages, a moelleux (sweet) version of Clos de la Coulée de Serrant is also produced.
• Clos de la Bergerie, from the appellation Savennières-Roche-aux-Moines
• Les Vieux Clos, from the appellation Savennières. This wine is labelled Les Clos Sacrés when it is exported to the United States.

In recent years, Nicolas Joly's daughter Virginie Joly has taken over much of the task of running the estate.

Books

Nicolas Joly's writings on biodynamic wines consist of books directed at winegrowers and wine consumers, respectively. His book for winegrowers is called Le Vin du ciel à la terre and has been through several editions. In its English adaptation for the American market, it was given the title Wine From Sky To Earth. His book for wine consumers is called Le Vin, la Vigne et la Biodynamie and was adapted as What is Biodynamic wine ? in its 2007 UK edition and as Biodynamic Wine Demystified in its 2008 US edition. His books have also been published in Czech, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

External links

• Coulée de Serrant, website of Nicolas Joly's wine estate