Domaine de la Zouina (Villa Volubilia)

Domaine de la Zouina is the estate behind the Volubilia and Epicuria wines, about 20 km south of Meknès in the AOG Guerrouane. Gérard Gribelin of Château de Fieuzal and Philippe Gervoson of Château Larrivet Haut-Brion took it over in 2002, and Gribelin's son Christophe manages it. It is considerably smaller than the Celliers de Meknès estates such as Château Roslane, makes olive oil too, and opens by reservation only.

A visit is arranged in advance. In 2019–2021 it ran as a walk through the grounds and a presentation of how the wines and the olive oils are made, then a tasting: with cheeses, with chocolates, or as part of a lunch menu paired with six wines. Formats change, so confirm them when booking. The olive-oil side of the estate gives anyone not drinking something to follow.

Visits run by reservation, so the season matters more than the day. Summers are dry and swept by the Chergui, the east wind from the Sahara that dries the grapes fast; autumns bring storms and winters are wet. Late in the year is olive-harvest time here, when the trees are beaten so the olives fall onto sheets, and a visit can catch it. Hours and closed days are not published: confirm the date when booking.

Visits are by reservation only. The estate's old website is offline, so book by phone on +212 5 35 43 30 34 and confirm the meeting point, the format and the price, none of which is published. In 2019–2021 the visit included a tasting with cheeses, one with chocolates, or a lunch menu paired with six wines. A 1967 Moroccan order bars licensed sellers from selling or giving alcohol to Moroccan Muslims.

The estate lies about 20 km south of Meknès, towards the Middle Atlas, in the rural commune of Aït Bourzouine in El Hajeb Province; its post box is in Boufekrane. No street address is published, so agree the meeting point when booking. Tour itineraries pair a tasting here with Meknès and Fès, and a Meknès vineyard visit fits a day at Volubilis. The Meknès region page lists the estates nearby.

Domaine de la Zouina is a wine and olive estate about 20 km south of Meknès, Morocco, home of the Volubilia, Epicuria and Zouina ranges and also sold as Villa Volubilia. It covers 115 hectares, 85 of them vines, in the AOG Guerrouane, one of the appellations set by a 1977 order. Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo make the reds; Chardonnay, Viognier and Vermentino are among the whites.

Two Bordeaux vignerons came here on a golf trip in 2001: Gérard Gribelin, associated for decades with Château de Fieuzal in Pessac-Léognan, and Philippe Gervoson, who bought Château Larrivet Haut-Brion with Christine Gervoson in 1987. In 2002 they formed the Volubilia partnership with Domaine de la Zouina and planted 63 hectares of vines; the Epicuria, Volubilia and Zouina ranges followed. Gérard's son Christophe manages the estate.

The vines grow on clay-limestone in the Middle Atlas foothills at about 800 m, on the Meknès plateau, which the 1977 appellation order places south of the Fès-Meknès-Rabat road and east of the Oued Beht. Summers are dry, with the Chergui wind from the Sahara drying the grapes fast. The Fès-Meknès region makes about 60% of Morocco's wine.

Three names, one estate: Domaine de la Zouina is the property, Volubilia the partnership and main range (named after Volubilis), and Villa Volubilia the name its importer lists. Epicuria is the premium range of single-grape wines, about 15,000 bottles a year of its Cabernet Sauvignon; Volubilia is recognised by a metallic silver label. The estate is one of three Moroccan producers named as making kosher wines.