Michele d’Aprix Wine Dinner – July 24, 2025

We are proud to welcome French winemaker Michele d’Aprix to Fearrington Village.  Michele is originally from upstate New York, but also has family right here in Pittsboro, and even visited Fearrington in her youth. She is the only American woman making her own wine in Bordeaux, France. Chef Paul Gagne’s 4-course dinner menu will pair with 6 memorable wines.

MICHELE D’APRIX

Originally from upstate New York, Michele D’Aprix worked as a bartender in Boston while studying Organic Chemistry at UMass. Her ability to multi-task was finely honed behind the bar. Those years in service, along with her extremely limited lab skills, landed Michele her first winery job at Dry Creek Vineyard in California as an assistant to the enologist. She loved the job so much that she decided to enroll in UC Davis’s Fermentation Science program and 5 years later she earned her 2nd degree in Viticulture & Enology.

In search of more experience, Michele found work at wineries in the Rhône Valley and South Africa, finally arriving in Bordeaux, where she trained with the accomplished and highly-regarded vigneron Stéphane Derenocourt. Fully-immersed at this point, she studied his methodology in both the vineyard and cellar, combining the fine art of organic farming and

minimal intervention winemaking. Ready to add her own touch after few years, Michele became the winemaker at a small property in the Montagne-St Emilion A.O.C. where she developed a solo project, calling it “Pentimento.” At the start of it, and to this day (much to her surprise), she is the only American woman making her own wine in the region of Bordeaux.

She now splits her winemaking efforts between Bordeaux, Costières de Nîmes (France) and Montsant (Spain), where she has multiple projects. Michele spends a large amount of her state-side time working the market with her distribution partners. With family right here in town, she visits Pittsboro frequently, and even has memories of Fearrington Village from her childhood!

The Fine Print:

This $150 wine dinner is non-refundable and totals $195 with tax and service. If your plans have changed, please feel free to send a lucky friend in your place!  Just send us an email with their name or have them bring your confirmation email.