The Emmanuel Houillon & Pierre Overnoy winery has deep roots in history, tracing back to Pierre Overnoy's father, who owned a 15-hectare farm in Pupillin, near Arbois, France. This farm included nearly three hectares of vineyards. In the late 1960s, Overnoy decided to focus solely on viticulture, embracing organic farming from the start and steering clear of pesticides. This made him a pioneer in organic wine production.
Pierre Overnoy upheld this tradition with a clear objective: to craft wines that truly reflect the Jura region's terroir, highlighting the soil's minerality and the maturity of each vintage.
In 1990, a young man named Emmanuel Houillon from nearby Franche-Comté began his apprenticeship at Overnoy's winery. During his apprenticeship, he balanced his studies in viticulture with hands-on experience at the winery. Upon completing his technical baccalaureate, Overnoy hired him as an employee. By then, the two had formed a close, father-son-like bond. When Pierre Overnoy retired in 2001, Emmanuel Houillon and his wife took over the winery and continued its legacy. Pierre Overnoy remains involved, offering his advice and support daily.
For many years, Pierre Overnoy's wines were enjoyed primarily by a select group of restaurants and wine shops within France. Over the past few decades, the exclusivity of Houillon & Overnoy wines has shifted dramatically. Today, their vintages are highly coveted, extending well beyond the Jura region and even France.
One notable characteristic of Houillon & Overnoy wines that wine enthusiasts should be aware of is the approach they take to determining readiness. The two winemakers only release wines that they believe have reached their peak drinking quality. Depending on the harvest's quantity and quality, sometimes only a portion of a vintage is bottled, while the rest continues to mature in barrels. Unlike many other wineries, Houillon & Overnoy do not follow the convention of releasing vintages in chronological order.
Another distinctive feature of their winemaking is that, with the exception of Vin Jaune and Vin de Liqueur, all cuvées share the same label. The only way to differentiate them is by the color of the wax seal on the bottle: white for Chardonnay, yellow for Savagnin, and red for Ploussard.
Despite the high demand for his wines, Emmanuel Houillon remains committed to maintaining the winery’s current scale and refuses to expand or purchase grapes. Even in years of challenging weather, when harvests were nearly impossible, he has stayed true to his natural winemaking philosophy. To this day, Houillon & Overnoy wines represent a pure, unadulterated approach to winemaking that is rarely seen in the industry.
