The Domaine is divided into different vineyards: Éric Dampt, Emmanuel Dampt, Hervé Dampt, DAMPT Frères Earl, Earl DAMPT - DUPAS, and Earl Les Preuses.

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It is difficult to speak of only one Dampt member as we all complement each other. Éric, the first to acquire a vineyard, specializes in the mechanization and management of the wine processing. Emmanuel handles the wine making: the maturing of wine, the wine press during the vintage period, and the bottling and commercialization. Hervé, the youngest brother, continues to develop organic farming. Jacky Poussière, Dampt's partner, manages the manual running of the vineyard.

 

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Bernard Dampt, works the land in his village as did his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. He would not accept being the last member of his family to make a living from agriculture.

 

In 1980, he decided to acquire and plant grapevine in an attempt to guarantee the future of his three sons. He became a member of the Cave Coopérative Chablisienne and produced his first crop of grapes in 1981 in the Vignoble de Chablis.

 

In 1982, in the midst of the Chablis appellation crisis, he continued planting, always keeping his sons’ futures in mind.

 

In 1985, his oldest son Éric joined him and became a Chablis winemaker, producing his first crop in 1988.

Realizing the difficulties of acquiring new lands in Chablis, they decided to restore the Vignoble Tonnerois that had been threatened by the fungus phylloxera between 1870 and 1890.

 

In 1987, they planted their first vines in Tonnerre and thus, the Chardonnay grape began to flourish again in the region.

 

In 1990, his son Emmanuel joined them in the expansion of the vineyard. He chose to commercialize the Bourgogne Tonnerre in bottles that until then had been commercialized at a wine cellar cooperative.

 

Although Bernard, Éric and Emmanuel each had his own vineyard, they made all decisions together. In 1991, the two brothers pooled their means through an integral CUMA that invested in various equipment such as high clearance tractors, wine presses, vat wine making, and vehicles for construction and delivery.

 

Bernard Dampt retired in 1993 and left the business to his sons. Hervé Dampt joined his brothers in 1998 and took over his father’s vineyard.

 

In 2003, with the Domaine thriving, the first association of the Dampt brothers (Dampt Frères Earl) was created with their neighbor Jacky Poussière, another viticultural farmer.

 

In 2005, the Earl Dampt-Dupas was founded with Madame Dupas. She was responsible for bringing the Chablis 1st Cru “Fourchaume” and the Grand Cru “Les Preuses” to the Domaine.

 

In 2006, an idea to pool the workforce gave birth to the "Groupement d’Employeurs de la Grande Côte" of which every vineyard is member.

 

In 2009, Éric and Emmanuel joined together to create one business, "Vignoble DAMPT Frères" to simplify the administration and commerce.

 

Today, "Vignoble DAMPT Frères" operates about 96 acres of vineyards in Tonnerre and Chablis, and sells about 700,000 bottles annually to a large range of customers (individuals, restaurants, supermarkets, and distributors and exports to the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Albania and Japan.)

A beautiful family story!