Domaine La Garagista

Barnard, Vermont

Domaine La Garagista is located in Vermont on Mount Hunger in the Châteauguay Forest and on Lake Champlain in the Champlain Valley.
Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber not only produce terroir expressing alpine wines, but also and ciders. and co-fermentations, an ancient practice that encourages vibrant conversations between their fruit orchards and vineyards.
The lands for which they care are located on the ancestral territory of the Abenaki people, and has been part of small homestead farming for over two hundred years. They practice a whole-farm and diverse agriculture focused on the marriage between soil, plant, and sky where they are not only growing wine, but also vegetables, fruits, and flowers for their pop-up tasting rooms in Barnard and West Addison, as well as their supper club 'The Wolfe Club'.

Deirdre and Caleb farm five parcels: three vineyards in the mountains, and two vineyards in the valley. The work They do at the farm and winery, both in the field and in the cellar, is inspired by the energy of forest edge ecology, and guided by regenerative, permaculture, and biodynamic thought. The flora and fauna that populate the understory of the vines denote the universe of soil, insects, plants, and animals. This universe informs the narrative of a vintage. The word understory is apt. Winemakers are storytellers after all, collaborating with the vine and the natural world to express the spirit of a place.

They began planting Domaine La Garagista in 2007, and their first vintage was in 2010.  The  couple continues to plant, experiment, and refine their farming and their cellar work, deepening their understanding and relationship with this landscape. Domaine La Garagista wines reflect this narrative and are made without additives, only healthy fruit from healthy soils. Their family of wines has grown from 2 cuvées to 35 over the years. Working in a new and dynamic wine region, Deirdre and Caleb believe it is important to investigate how each of the varieties we grow represent the vineyards we farm. Each bottling is a story of place. Each story is an essay on technique as they experiment with different traditional winemaking methods to highlight different expressions of wine from different locales in this vibrant region of Vermont.