Orleans vinegar
Created on the banks of the Loire, Orléans vinegar has long been known throughout France and on the tables of kings. In the 18th century, during its golden age, the city was home to several hundred artisan vinegar makers. Today, Maison Martin-Pouret is the only company to have maintained this tradition since 1797.
In 2019, Martin-Pouret vinegars undergo a revival, when David Matheron and Paul-Olivier Claudepierre take over the business. Having worked for a number of major companies, they were keen to work together on a single project. During a visit to the Grande Épicerie du Bon Marché, they fell in love with this house of vinegar makers, which had great potential but was in need of modernization. Although it possessed century-old know-how and a natural fermentation method, typically Orléans-based, renowned and consumed beyond its borders, it lacked the recognition of a real label. "I have a file of documentation on my desk to see if a label is possible", confides Paul-Olivier Claudepierre, in the workshops near Orléans.
While the company has ambitions for growth, it makes it a point of honor to anchor itself in its region and its history. Especially when this history is a source of inspiration. Ancient texts, unearthed by a historian commissioned by the duo, mention a vinegar from Orléans made from pinot noir, the only grape variety authorized at the table of François 1er. "We don't currently work with this grape variety, but why not give it a try? However, the most important thing is know-how."
As soon as they arrived, they hired a master vinegar maker apprentice, to support Christophe Hemme, twenty-seven years with the company. "This reinforcement is essential to look after the 900 barrels stored in the new cellar, inaugurated in September 2024 on the outskirts of Orléans. This vinegar factory doesn't have the charm of the old one, of course, but modernization was necessary to increase production, which is still artisanal. "To increase production by a factor of three, we'd need a vinegar factory three times as big," explains Paul-Olivier Claudepierre. The vinegars are made using traditional methods, starting with wine: "Not Château Petrus, but good wine nonetheless." Then comes fermentation: "Natural fermentation lasts three weeks. This part is incompressible. "The third phase is ageing: "For our vinegar to take on all its aromatic richness and roundness, its balance, according to the Orléans method, it takes at least twelve months. "But the vinegar can age in its vat for up to twenty years, like the one supplied to chef Pierre Gagnaire.
Product sourcing is one of Martin-Pouret's strengths: the ingredients used come exclusively from France, not only the grape varieties for the wines, but also the mustard seeds, one of the company's flagship by-products. "That's the house philosophy. "A mai - son, a living heritage enterprise since 2021, which can be found on chefs' tables, like that of Christophe Hay (Fleur de Loire, in Blois, 4 toques), or in Marie Gricourt's mayo egg recipe (see below). "But it's destined to find its way into the cupboards of ordinary people, because, in the end, we're an accessible luxury", concludes Paul-Olivier Claudepierre.
