The hillsides of Aigueblanche (B12)

This remarkable, listed building was completed in 1685. Step inside to admire the decorative wall paintings and altarpieces. The dome also bears trompe l'oeil paintings. Open in July and August, or by appointment. Why not also make the most of the outings organised by Aigueblanche's Culture & Heritage association?www.aigueblanche-patrimoine.com/

The Aigueblanche vineyard was once highly reputed and the quality of its wine praised particularly by the Royal Academic Society of Savoie (1845). From very ancient times, the well-exposed hillsides were planted with vines. The main grape varieties at the time were the douce noir de le Bois, le guy noir, martincot, le gouche, le régentât and hyvernais de Tarentaise for red wine and la jacquère, le guy blanc, le gouais, le bellochin and le blanc verdun for white wine. In the 18th and 19th centuries, villagers in the Aigueblanche valley bought the feudal rights over livestock rearing, crop-growing, the wood and the vines, which were the property of the archdiocese and nobility.Each family had their own sartot, a typical hut for storing tools. In 1876 phylloxera reached Savoie and wiped out most of the vines. Each of the plants had to be replanted one by one and many vinegrowers used more rustic seedlings that better withstood the climate. It was at this time that the present-day vine route would be developed to facilitate vinegrowing work between Grand-Coeur and Aigueblanche. Nowadays much of the vineyard has been abandoned: the only surviving remnants of this past being the terraces and the sartos.