History and Philosophy

Born in Washington D.C., Alex Gambal discovered Burgundy in 1993, along with a passion for its wine. After learning about winemaking and viticulture at the famous wine school in Beaune, he created a négociant-éleveur business in 1997.

During the first year, Alex began by purchasing 1996-vintage finished wines and by 1998 had already established relationships with local growers, and began to vinify the wine, beginning with grapes and must. In 2006, Maison Alex Gambal vinified 90% of the wines that will be bottled.

The philosophy of Alex Gambal and of Fabrice Laronze, head winemaker, is a respect for the character of each appellation and vintage. In addition, they believe that good winemaking, although imperative, should be secondary to the quality of the grapes which result from relationships and a sharing of ideas with the growers. Achieving this goal requires constant attention to the individual vineyards including pruning techniques, green harvesting, vine maturity, etc. (certain vineyard sites are even picked by our own small team of vendangeurs).

During élevage, we believe in a minimum of human interference with the wine and allow the wine to truly show itself. The reds are never fined or filtered, and only in certain vintages are the whites fined.

The portfolio of our wines is 50% from regional AOC, 30% from Villages AOC, and 20% from Premiers and Grands Crus AOC. Our wine is from both the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits (60% white and 40% red). The wine is exported throughout the world, and can be found in restaurants and wine shops throughout France.

Our objectives are to produce no more than 60,000 bottles a year, in order to maintain a high level of quality, to preserve our mission, and remain humble and respectful of the land.