Saskia Van Der Horst

Saskia Van Der Horst worked as a sommelier in London before deciding to study oenology in Burgundy. During her 2 year degree, she apprenticed with some of the greats in natural wine – Jean-Claude Rateau in Beaune and Jean-Christophe Comor in Provence.

In 2013, she settled in the Roussillon in South West France and started Domaine Les Arabesques. The estate has been certified organic since 2013 and is located 30km from Perpignan, between the Corbières and Pyrenees mountains. Eight vineyard plots make up 4.50 hectares of old vine Carignan as well as Syrah, Lledoner Pelut, Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, and Macabeu. The vineyards are spread across three towns, and Saskia benefits from a great diversity in soil types; schist in Montner, marl slate in Planèzes, and gneiss granite in Latour-de-France.

Oscillating between fiberglass tanks and wood, Saskia makes wine using only native yeasts, without fining or filtering. Grapes are destemmed and very lightly crushed with little to no added sulfur, depending on the year. She has been practicing biodynamics since 2019.