The history of the Domaine began in the mid-1970s in the town of Banyuls-sur-Mer.

Jean-François Deu, the son of a winegrower born in the village, gradually took over from his father and founded his own “Cave Particulière” at the beginning of 1976.
Its goal is to perpetuate the wine-growing tradition of the Côte Vermeille with a constant concern to preserve the environment and ancestral Catalan practices.

From the first years, he worked with mules to plow the land and transport the harvest to the cellar.
His uncle Anicet Deu, the last active mule driver from Banyuls until the end of the 1990s, helped him in his wine adventure and passed on his passion for mules.

He will pay tribute to him by naming his “Private Cellar” the Domaine du Traginer meaning mule driver in French.

In 1997, he had an avant-garde vision and became a pioneer in the ecological transition in the Cru. In order to preserve the environment that surrounds him and to cultivate living things with dignity to make a living from his art, he obtains certification in Organic Agriculture.
With Michel Chapoutier and Alain Castex, two other big names in the world of wine, they are the first three winegrowers on the Côte Vermeille to take this route.

At the end of the 90s, he experimented with certain principles of Biodynamics and in 2001 carried out his first vinifications without added sulphites. This is the beginning of a certain renewal in the Cru where other young winegrowers of the future, imbued with a similar vision, will reinforce this approach over the decade.

In 2013, to formalize its convictions as a winemaker wishing to make “True” wine, the Domaine obtained DEMETER certification (German label). Viticulture and winemaking will now be conducted entirely according to Biodynamic specifications.
Domaine du Traginer is the only DEMETER certified wine estate in the Cru Collioure-Banyuls.

Today, it has 18 hectares of vines between 5 and 80 years old planted only in the town of Banyuls-sur-Mer between the coast and the mountains. Yields are naturally very low, less than 20hl/h on average each year. It produces, de facto, structured and generous high-end wines. The Estate has two mules which help to plow the land using animal traction and a flock of sheep manages the grass in the vines during the winter season.

Jean-François DEU, surrounded by a passionate team, shares this sincere adventure with you.