Before the dream of Martinelle became a reality, Corinna followed up her studies with a six-year tenure in Germany then moved to the Rhône Valley where she worked at several wineries including Marcel Richaud, Villeneuve and Domaine de Cassan. Her dream was to start her own winery and Southern Rhône spoke to her in a way no other region had. After scouring the region, she finally found a special pocket of the Southern Rhône to make her inimitable mark. Perched on the other side of the striking, saw-toothed Dentelles de Montmirail from Gigondas and Vacqueyras, Martinelle rests in the Ventoux appellation where the soil boasts a complex array of limestone, clay and gypsum on Mount Ventoux’s foothills that are 270-300 meters in elevation. She maintains incredibly low yields, farms organically and is currently seeking official certification. The biodiversity and health of the vineyards are of paramount importance, which results in a wine that is a pure fingerprint of Corinna’s unique corner of the Southern Rhône.   

 

Harvest is done entirely by hand and fruit is sorted in the vineyard to ensure only the most pristine grapes arrive at the cellar. Corinna strives to create an environment where the winemaking is as gentle and natural as possible. The grapes are fed into cement vats through gravity then aged in 100% cement tanks, which allows a pure expression of terroir. The blend of roughly 72% Grenache, 18% Syrah, 7% Mourvèdre and 3% old-vine Carignan, Counoise, Clairette and Viognier delivers a quality that is on par with some of the greatest wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. According to Corinna, “the goal is to bring the earth, the vines and the natural environment into the greatest possible harmony in order to create the finest, most individual and authentic wines.” In doing so, Martinelle represents the incredible potential the lesser-known Ventoux appellation is capable of for a price we can all afford.