Domaine Nowack

Arriving from Bohemia, Jean-Baptiste Nowack chose to make his home in Champagne, on the right bank of the Marne Valley in the small village of Vandières, whose name means ‘to give wine’.

The family developed a business specialising in the manufacture and firing of bricks, roof tiles and fountain pipework, which were stamped with the name Nowack and sold throughout the valley.

Later, Jean-Baptiste’s son Pierre-Ferdinand took over the family enterprise while continuing to cultivate a small piece of vineyard that he had inherited from his mother.

Ferdinand, Pierre-Ferdinand’s grandson, acquired his father’s plots of vines and devoted himself to winegrowing. He was almost 30 when the phylloxera crisis destroyed the vineyards of Champagne.

With much work, however, he rebuilt his vineyard and went on to become a talented winemaker. In 1930, he received the French Order of Agricultural Merit rewarding exceptional service to agriculture. He was the first Nowack to officially become a winemaker.

Very early on, Ferdinand instilled in his son his love of winegrowing, gradually passing on to him the secrets of his savoir-faire and his vines.

Ferdinand was to become a recognised winemaker, winning prizes two years running at the Concours Général Agricole de Paris in 1935 and 1936 for his red Coteaux Champenois wine. This wine was made with 100% Pinot Meunier grapes and sold under the name ‘Vin Nature de la Champagne’.

His son Bernard in turn also enjoyed success with the surge in popularity of champagne in the 1960s. In response to this new market demand, he increased the number of wines produced by Maison Nowack and in doing so strengthened its foundations and helped it to grow.

The story continues today with Frédéric and Flavien for whom the passion for winegrowing and winemaking and the love of the land and terroir are fundamental parts of who they are.

Frédéric and Flavien consider the vines as living organisms which they are there to guide; their aim is for the vines to regulate and protect themselves.

As winegrowers, they are careful to supply only what is appropriate and necessary. All of their actions in the vineyard are carried out with respect for the plants, the soil, and everything living in it.

They only intervene on a preventive basis and give priority to the natural balance and biodiversity.

Some gentle tilling and scarifying are done in the vineyard to promote deeper rooting and microbial life in the soil, which help the grapes to better express their terroir.

Their practices focus on protecting the living environment and are close to those used in organic winegrowing.

The personality of a Nowack champagne expresses itself directly at pressing. Since Medieval times, this stage has been the most symbolic of a winemakers’ work.

Gentle pressing is systematically employed to obtain the very best juice and allow the terroir to show through.

Clarification is kept to a minimum since the lees from the yeasts are full of living elements which help to conserve the unique characteristics of the vintage in the wine.

The must begins fermentation naturally thanks to indigenous yeasts. This fermentation is a key step that allows the full flavours of the grapes to be expressed in the wine.

The wines are aged in oak barrels or in vats for several months. Aside from racking, the wines are not handled at all. No chaptalisation, filtering or fining are performed.

Each season during the ageing of the wines is important. Winter allows the wines to cool off naturally, while spring is the ideal period for bottling the wines. When this is complete, the wines are transferred to the cellar.

Daily work and a humble and philosophic approach help us to lead the wine to its most beautiful expression while pursuing the ambitious goal of using zero inputs.

Wine sent from the heavens to earth

The house philosophy is based on understanding and respecting the complex ecosystem of each vineyard plot.

The biodynamic treatments (horn manure, silica, compost, herbal preparations, etc.) that we apply create a better balance for the living environment.

We seek the most autonomous cycle between the soil, the plants and the vineyard animal life to allow the vines to enjoy the true characteristics of their terroir and to produce wines containing the most natural nutrients possible and a real sense of place.

Respecting Nature

Frédéric and Flavien consider the vines as living organisms which they are there to guide; their aim is for the vines to regulate and protect themselves.

As winegrowers, they are careful to supply only what is appropriate and necessary. All of their actions in the vineyard are carried out with respect for the plants, the soil, and everything living in it.

They only intervene on a preventive basis and give priority to the natural balance and biodiversity.

Some gentle tilling and scarifying are done in the vineyard to promote deeper rooting and microbial life in the soil, which help the grapes to better express their terroir.

Their practices focus on protecting the living environment and are close to those used in organic winegrowing.

The house philosophy is based on understanding and respecting the complex ecosystem of each vineyard plot.

The biodynamic treatments (horn manure, silica, compost, herbal preparations, etc.) that we apply create a better balance for the living environment.

We seek the most autonomous cycle between the soil, the plants and the vineyard animal life to allow the vines to enjoy the true characteristics of their terroir and to produce wines containing the most natural nutrients possible and a real sense of place.