Franche Comte Winegrower’s House

The traditional Franche Comte wine grower’s house is generally a long house of large proportions which always has a cellar. The house is made of stone, with large ground floor gates originally allowing barrels to be carried into the cellar. These features can easily be converted into a large and impressive reception room.

An external staircase allows access to the first floor. However, in many restored properties these stairs have been removed and an internal staircases added.

Sometimes wooden corbelling reinforces the roof structure. This system is also often seen on the famous Bresse farmhouses, Bresse being an historic area of France at the crossroads of Franche Comte, Burgundy and Rhone Alps.

A corbel is in this case a piece of wood jutting out of a wall to carry the weight of the floor/ roof above. This is a technique used since Neolithic times – late Stone Age (around 3,500 BC) and is a traditional construction method in the region.

Wood is used mainly inside these Maisons de Vignerons (winemakers') houses. Beams are often exposed inside such a traditional property. A large stone chimney is generally found in the living room.

The ceiling, stairs and many other parts of the house like the pieces of furniture are generally made of wood. Shutters and doors are often made of wood too. The walls are generally of yellow/ orange colour that give a warm aspect to these traditional Franche Comte properties.

These traditional French houses are really ideal if you are looking for a house with great B and B potential. With Franche Comte houses, a lot of the charm is inherent to the property with the entire house layout dedicated to the production of wine.