France, Calvados

The Dupont Family's history in Pays d'Auge in Normandy goes over 3 centuries. In 1887, Jules Dupont became the tenant of La Vigannerie, the present Domain. Jules’s main occupation was cattle farming, with apple growing and the production of Calvados as a side line. By 1916 Jules had sold enough bottles of Calvados (or cattle) to purchase La Vigannerie. His son Louis succeeded him and ran the estate until his death in 1974, and his widow, Colette, kept it going until 1980 when Etienne Dupont took over. Etienne went to Cognac to study the distillation process and has worked tirelessly to improve the orchards and increase the family’s holdings. Today they have 27ha planted with some 6000 trees!