photo: Vinatura

Laurence Manya Krief, known to most as Yoyo, has 5 hectares of old vines in Banyuls-sur-Mer delicately nestled between the mountains and the sea. After a brief career in the textiles industry in Paris, Yoyo began yearning for more connection with her work and wanted to free herself from what she described as an often “materialistic” environment. So she moved to the Banyuls, just miles near her hometown of Perpignan and purchased small plots of abandoned vines overlooking the Mediterranean ocean. By 2008 she converted her vines (primarily comprised of grenache and carignan) to be completely organic, and now maintains the steep slopes entirely by hand, horse, or mule (Uma). Yoyo’s aim to encapsulate the warmth of the Mediterranean sun, the salty breeze of the ocean, and the magic of the black schist soil, is perhaps why her wines are known to be some of the most elegant and poised of the beloved Banyuls.