Simon Tardieux & Jerome Gal of Domaine Tardieux-Gal make a range of simple, eminently drinkable wines in the Loire Valley that showcase the best of French farming, from vineyards that have been farmed organically since 1998 (and they are one of the few domaines in the area that exclusively hand harvests). As a teenager, Simon Tardieux began working in the vines at a famous organic domaine called Clos Roche Blanche. After university and a short stint as a social worker, he decided to return to Thésée and get back to viticulture – the only problem was that he didn’t have any vineyards. In 2009, Simon teamed up with his neighbor Alain Courtault, who had been farming organically since 1998, but was still selling most of his harvest off to the local coop. Simon took over the domaine gradually, mentored along the way by Alain as he prepared for his retirement. A decade later, they were bottling all of their grapes. Jerome Gal is originally from Thésée as well, and had worked for eight years in a vineyard nursery before moving over to production. In 2016, he used his vacation time to work harvest with Simon and Alain. He so enjoyed the work that he decided to stick around, and today is most often found on a tractor in the middle of the vines. Following Alain’s retirement in 2020, Jerome joined Simone as a partner and the domaine was renamed Tardieux-Gal.