In 1781, in the small town of Tupin-et-Semons, south of Lyon and within the most prestigious vineyard of the Rhône, Joseph Vidal founded the House of the same name. From the outset, it acquired an international reputation thanks to Thomas Jefferson, then United States Ambassador to France, who visited the estate in 1787. In the 1890s, Gustave Vidal married a daughter of the Fleury family and Maison Vidal became Maison Vidal-Fleury. These nuptials came at just the right time as the bride's dowry made it possible to replant the vineyard which has just suffered the devastating attacks of phylloxera. A period of disappointments followed, including two wars, a lack of skilled labour, and vegetable plantations. They believed the vineyard was dying, but they had not counted on a handful of obstinate men and wine lovers, who brought the vineyard back to life. With the strength of their tenacity, they restored the vines to their original state and this is how Maison Vidal-Fleury became the emblematic Maison of Côte Rôtie during the mid-20th century. In 1984, The Vidal-Fleury family decided to sell the House, as none of its heirs wanted to take over the reins. They naturally turned to the Guigal family as the two families had a very close relationship and had always worked together since 1924 when Etienne Guigal had been hired as vine-grower and cellar master by Joseph Vidal-Fleury. In 2006 Vidal-Fleury began investing to modernize its winery facilities, installing state-of-the-art technology; in 2008, it built a new cellar specifically dedicated to maturing the wines. Today, Maison Vidal-Fleury has no fewer than 16 of the most prestigious appellations in the Rhône Valley.