Domaine Huet

The Huet family fell for a property in Vouvray during a visit in 1928: Le Haut-Lieu, then five hectares of vines. Victor Huet, a bistro owner, bought it that same year, wine stocks included. His son Gaston studied agronomy and became a winegrower; he served in the French army during the Second World War, and spent most of the war as a prisoner in a German camp. Gaston became Mayor of Vouvray in 1947, helped shape French wine law, and is credited with preventing a planned TGV line from cutting through the Vouvray vineyards. He expanded the domaine with the six-hectare Clos du Bourg in 1953 and the nine-hectare Le Mont in 1957. His own son chose to become a photographer, so the estate passed to Gaston's youngest daughter and her husband, Noel Pinguet, who moved back to Vouvray at Gaston's urging and took over winemaking in 1976. Pinguet converted the farming to biodynamics after a trial in the 1988 vintage. Gaston Huet died in 2002, and French death duties forced the sale of the domaine to Anthony Hwang, whose family also owns Hungary's Kiralyudvar winery. Pinguet made the wines through the 2011 vintage and left in February 2012, when Anthony Hwang's daughter Sarah Hwang and her brother Hugo Hwang moved to the domaine to take over; long-time winemaker Jean-Bernard Berthome stayed on through the transition, providing continuity. Sarah Hwang now owns and runs Domaine Huet, with Benjamin Joliveau as winemaker.

• Founded 1928 by Victor Huet and Gaston Huet, who bought the five-hectare Le Haut-Lieu property that year
• Clos du Bourg (6 ha) added 1953; Le Mont (9 ha) added 1957
• Gaston Huet became Mayor of Vouvray in 1947; he died in 2002
• Noel Pinguet, Gaston's son-in-law, took over winemaking in 1976 and left the domaine in February 2012
• Anthony Hwang bought the domaine after Gaston Huet's 2002 death; his daughter Sarah Hwang, who took over with her brother Hugo Hwang in 2012, now runs it

Domaine Huet farms three parcels in Vouvray and vinifies each separately. Le Haut-Lieu, the founding site bought in 1928 and now 15 hectares, has deep brown clay soils. Clos du Bourg, six hectares, sits above the church of Vouvray inside an old stone wall, on shallow clay and limestone over a tuffeau subsoil, and is one of the oldest vineyards in the appellation. Le Mont, nine hectares, has pebbly soil with clay and flint and faces south on the first cote, directly above the domaine's tuffeau cellars. All three sites are farmed biodynamically.

• Le Haut-Lieu (15 ha): deep brown clay soils; the estate's founding parcel, bought in 1928
• Clos du Bourg (6 ha): shallow clay and limestone over tuffeau, above the Vouvray church, enclosed by an old stone wall; among the appellation's oldest vineyards
• Le Mont (9 ha): pebbly clay with flint, south-facing on the first cote above the domaine's tuffeau cellars
• All three sites are farmed biodynamically and vinified separately

Biodynamic farming began with a trial in the 1988 vintage under Noel Pinguet; all 30 hectares of Chenin Blanc are farmed this way today. Whole clusters go into the press without crushing or destemming, and the juice settles for 24 hours before it is split between tank and old barrels. Fermentation runs on the cellars' own indigenous yeasts. Each cuvee ages about six months before bottling in April. The bottles are stored in long galleries under the tuffeau, at a constant temperature of around 13 degrees Celsius.

• Biodynamic farming introduced after a trial in the 1988 vintage; all 30 hectares are farmed biodynamically today
• Whole clusters are pressed without crushing or destemming; juice settles 24 hours before fermentation
• Fermentation runs on the cellars' own indigenous yeasts
• Aged roughly six months before an April bottling; bottles are stored in galleries under the tuffeau at a constant temperature around 13C

Domaine Huet makes five regular styles, all from Chenin Blanc: Sec (dry), Demi-Sec (semi-dry), Moelleux (sweet), Moelleux Premiere Trie (late-harvest sweet, picked in successive passes), and Petillant, a style made in Vouvray for close to 200 years, which Huet ages on lattes in its tuffeau cellars for at least three years. In exceptional vintages the estate also makes a small quantity of Cuvee Constance, a blend of the most concentrated juice from all three terroirs, named with the first name of Madame Huet, Gaston Huet's mother.

• Five regular styles: Sec, Demi-Sec, Moelleux, Moelleux Premiere Trie, and Petillant
• Petillant has been made in Vouvray for close to 200 years; Huet ages it on lattes in the tuffeau cellars for at least three years
• Cuvee Constance, made only in exceptional vintages in small volume, blends the most concentrated juice from all three terroirs and is named with the first name of Madame Huet, Gaston's mother
• 100% Chenin Blanc across every style and vineyard

Primary source (producer's own site): https://www.domainehuet.com/. Secondary sources: Wikipedia (Domaine Huet), wineanorak.com (Jamie Goode visit report, February 17, 2026, on-site interview with Sarah Hwang and Benjamin Joliveau), thewinedoctor.com (Domaine Huet profile). Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.