Cave de Montfrin - Histoires Naturelles

In 2006 the winery acquired the skeleton of a mammoth and, with it, at the beginning of 2007, a new name: “The Wine-growers’ Vineyard – Natural History”  (Cave des Vignerons – Histoire Naturelle) and a new logo.

Montfrin’s Mammoth has a natural place in the Department of the Gard which is an area richly endowed with pre-historic sites.  It is, moreover, a gift offered to you by our wine-growers and a wonderful tribute to the soil they cultivate, soil which unfailingly brings forth marvellous treasure.

From its height of four metres, towering over the centre of the cellar, the Mammoth has become the winegrowers’ protective emblem.  Come and lose yourself in thought in front of it and allow your imagination to wander ….

The history of the mammoth is one of the most fascinating chapters in palaeontology: the Siberians first used the word ‘mammoth’ (which meant ‘giant mole’) to describe those enormous remains which inspired them to many creative activities.  Amongst other things they used the large bones as frames for their early, primitive shelters.  To date the oldest skeleton found (at the Gontsy site in the Ukraine) dates from 17 000 years ago; the species having died out up to 10 000 years ago.