During World War I, the Portuguese Manuel De Sousa arrives in France to fight with the Allies. At the end he returned home, but the economic crisis convinced him to return to the places where he had fought, in Champagne, and settled in Avize. His son Antoine will marry the daughter of a winemaker from the village, Zoémie Bonville, and together they found De Sousa, who will know a turning point since 1986, when his son Erick will take the helm.
This is a fine and enlightened winemaker, but also a very talented winemaker, so today its about 75,000 bottles produced are currently literally fought over by enthusiasts. The De Sousa family owns 11 hectares subdivided into 42 parcels, planted with 8,000 plants / ha and with an average age of 45 years. Since 1989, Erick has started converting vines to AB (Agriculture Biologique), ending in 1999, and using the horse instead of tractors. It is, in short, a true "bio", but it is far from the slogans and, above all, it is with such skill that its champagne are neither rustic nor improbable.
In the cellar, the grapes are fermented partly in steel and partly in barrique, using only indigenous yeasts when possible. De Sousa produces an additional 30,000 bottles with the most accessible Zoémie De Sousa brand.