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Dutruch Winery

by Paul Cimino

“Un repast sans vin c’est comme un jour sans soleil” translates into English as “A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”
For members of the northshore’s Dutruch family, wine—in addition to adding sunshine to their days—has played a significant role in their history. Their ancestors founded the Dutruch winery in France in the early 1800s. Although Dutruchs no longer own the winery, last September, local family members celebrated the historic French Dutruch wines with a typical Creole banquet at Étoile in Covington, where family member Kevin Raborn was then general manager. Honorees were Jean-Baptiste and Nathalie Cordonnier, who are now responsible for the day-to-day operation of the winery. “It was a great evening, with many Dutruch descendants in attendance,” says Kevin. “The family is large, and many of them reside in St. Tammany. It was a fine tribute to both the Dutruch family and the wine.”

The Dutruch family began its winery in the 1800s—an exciting century, as changes were taking place worldwide. In America, California was admitted into the union. Britain and America were planning a Panama Canal, and the United States was heading toward its greatest tragedy, the Civil War. Italy was on the brink of being united for the first time as one country. France was enjoying La Belle Époque, a golden period in French history. And the Dutruch winery was hard at task producing a fine French wine.

But from the time of the winery’s inception, no member of the Dutruch family could have possibly imagined the future odyssey of their wine. Named for the family, the Château Dutruch Largé Poujeaux stands majestically on a large stretch of land in the southwest corner of France. It overlooks a vineyard that has been lovingly attended for almost two hundred years while producing a noble wine that gives credit to France, which is known for great wines. The founding Dutruchs knew that the soil of the adjoining area known as Haut-Medoc, in the region of Moulis-en-Medoc, was famous for its gravelly texture and exposure. It was ideal for growing grapes that yield high quality wines.

The Dutruch family continued producing their wines until mid-century, when the spirit of adventure set in with the younger men of the family and they dispersed. In 1850, the winery was turned over to the Lambert family (Madame Lambert was a Dutruch), which was also dedicated to the art of making fine wines. Under their ownership, the winery continued to produce consistently high quality wines. In 1967, the winery was sold—this time to Francois Shoemaker. Messr. Shoemaker updated the culture and processing of the wine to the level of some of France’s most famous wines, including those from the famous Château Chenonceau.

Bringing the past to meet the present in retracing the history of the Dutruch family in Covington reveals that two of the Dutruch brothers, Jean-Alphonse and Gustave, left France after the sale of the winery to come to America. They arrived at America’s popular—and very French—settlement, the city of Nouvelle Orleans. In visiting the surrounding areas, Alphonse decided to remain here permanently. The year was 1861. Alphonse married Marie LeClaire, a local girl, and this union produced nine children. One of these, Louis Dutruch, married Florence Glass. And it is two of their grandchildren, Chuck Winninger and his sister Beth Pesses, the family genealogist, who seem to keep the distance between France and St. Tammany close. (One of Chuck’s brothers, Bryant, and his wife, Carol, live in Metairie; another sibling, Ronnie, lives in Texas with his wife, Merianne.)

The distance between the two continents seemed to pose no problem for Chuck and his wife Sue when, last summer, they went to France to visit the Dutruch winery—the place of the past responsible for so much of the present. At the winery, the Winningers met the present-day manager and nephew of the owner of Château Dutruch, Jean-Baptiste, and his wife, Nathalie. Delighted and exhilarated at being at the château, the Winningers explored and investigated every inch of the winery, taking a step back into their family’s history. Fascinated by the Dutruch story, the Cordonniers accepted the Winningers’ later invitation to visit Covington and celebrate with the local Dutruch family members.

It seems only fitting that the wine was celebrated here by the Dutruch family and the Cordonniers in true “Les Bon Temps Rouler” fashion.