Catherine Dumora

Catherine Dumora is a natural winemaker farming a striking high-altitude vineyard above Lamontgie in France’s Auvergne, just south of Clermont-Ferrand. Working just 1.5 hectares of old Gamay d’Auvergne vines, her approach is deeply rooted in organic farming, biodynamic principles, and minimal intervention, with a strong focus on vine health, resilience, and ecological balance.

Catherine’s journey into natural wine is shaped by a diverse background, including time spent living in Brazil and a strong personal commitment to social justice and community-led values. Formerly co-producing wines under the Yahou Fatal label, she now works independently, crafting small-batch, low-intervention wines that reflect the raw energy of her unique terroir—where basalt gives way to granite, schist, quartz, and calcareous soils on a west-facing slope.

In recent vintages, she has pushed toward zero vineyard treatments, using only biodynamic preparations, minimal sulfur, and natural plant-based hydrosols to support vine health. Her natural winemaking continues in the cellar, where wines are aged without oak in fibreglass and sandstone to preserve purity, freshness, and site expression.

Despite challenging harvests, Catherine has also produced limited négociant cuvées from organically grown fruit in the Minervois, maintaining her commitment to transparent, expressive wines. As a dedicated single mother and deeply intuitive grower, her wines embody authenticity, care, and the spirit of natural wine from the Auvergne.