A tractor to convert steep hillside Chardonnay vineyards to sustainable farming

Taussac & La Billière Chardonnay Project (Haute Vallée de l'Orb/Parc Regional Naturel du Haut Languedoc) Who are we? Elise and Kurt. Kurt is Canadian and grew up in Ontario but spent all of his adult life abroad and in Western Canada. Elise was born and raised in Beziers in the South of France, not far from our vineyards. We met in a mobile bottling line in the small, idylic village of Naramata in British Columbia, Canada in the spring of 2020. We got married in Naramata in the spring of 2022. Elise in a few words "After my studies in wine trade, wine tourism and sommellerie, I was hired by a large wine estate to manage the cellar, the wine tourism and the events in Vias, in the south of France. After a year I had quickly outgrown this job and left to explore wine service in restaurants and wine bars where I discovered the world of small producers focused on organic, biodynamic and natural culture around a regional cuisine at the rhythm of the seasons. It was after this discovery I felt the need to travel. In Western Canada I learned to work the vineyard, and had my first experiences of wine making at Echo Bay Vineyard and Lightning Rock Winery. These two wineries are not certified organic but practice regenerative agriculture with a minimum of intervention in the vineyard as in the cellar. Kurt in a few words "After 5 years of traveling abroad and working as a sommelier, I found my dream position as Wine Director for the TEATRO Group in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I was responsible for the management of the wine lists of seven restaurants (design, pricing and maintenance, staff training, purchasing, invoicing, inventory and balancing transfers within the group). After failing my first attempt at my "Advanced Sommelier Diploma" with the Court of Master Sommeliers I decided I needed a smaller workload to focus on my goal of becoming a "Master Sommelier". I took the oportunity to transfer into boutique wine production under the tutelage of Marcus Ansems, MW. Not only did I learn the basics of wine growing, fermentation science and how to manage a small winery, but I left there having passed my "Advanced Sommelier" exam on the second attempt and with the new goal of creating my own wine. Having had no good opportunity to set up as independent winegrowers in Canada (mostly due to land prices, and very limited access to leased vineyards), we decided to return to "the old world". France, the Languedoc, the largest wine region in the world and Elise's native stomping ground. It is with enthusiasm and full of progressive ideas, more motivated than ever that we have returned to France. We moved to France in August 2022, Kurt started working as a vineyard manager in Arboras in the AOP Terrasses du Larzac with a small biodynamic domaine, farming 14 ha. Elise works for a distributor of organic and biodynamic wines in the Hérault region, searching for and promoting small nuggets: atypical, exclusive, still unknown wines, wines that tell stories and animate characters with generous, curious and devoted souls. In short, wines that are like us, passionate. Since our return, the landscapes and terroirs of the Haut Languedoc seemed to us to be the most favourable place in the South of France to establish a small wine farm. Our vineyards in the Haute Vallée de l'Orb have some elevation, some good daytime-nightime temperature differences, it is not too hot, and good annual rainfall, and on top of all that.... it's affordable, obscure, but has a long history as a wine growing region . So we made our desire to find old Chardonnay known to an association called "Vignerons de demain" which connects young winemakers with opportunities to set up or take over vineyards. It is this association that has introduced us to two parcels of Chardonnay, totalling 2.5 ha: One on clay-limestone soil "Les Barris" and the other on schist soil "Propiénous". These hillside vineyards that belong to a grandfather that has been engaged in mixed farming in the region his whole life require a lot of attention. They are more difficult to maintain because of the slope, and access, mechanized work does not suit a small steep vineyard and so everything is done by hand. The time and the labor that the owner has spent there certainly does not make sense when you consider the grapes end up in a fermenter larger than an average North American home, mixed with who knows what. It is for this reason that these vineyards became available to us. Our objective Our medium-term objective is to develop a Domaine and brand. We have provisionally acquired a lease on a building next to the larger of the two vineyards where we will work to make at least two wines: one from each vineyard, vinified in the same way to begin to explore the differences in the two. The larger of the two parcels is also for sale, and our long term goal is to own this place "Propiénous" and to raise a farm and family there. Why To safeguard Chardonnay vines in very good condition, planted on steep hillsides capable of producing wines of character. Also to convert two parcels in this Natural Park to sustainable agriculture. How Rehabilitation of an old Schist barn into a wine cellar Creation of wines from a forgotten terroir that has recently been revalorized through theIGP Haute Vallée de l'Orb Marketing of the wines through local and international markets Possibility of expansion in the next two years so that Kurt can spend full time on this business Where Located 17 km from where Elise's parents live, a place the family knows and loves. Hidden just north of the small natural spring spa town of Lamalou-Les-Bains in the Parc Naturel Regional du Haut Languedoc. The Haute Vallée de l'Orb is the only IGP (Indication Geographic Protégée) in France that is entirely within a Natural Park. Every contributor is welcome to visit these vineyards, where we will be happy to welcome you with a little tour of our new found paradise. How to support us Talk about this campaign, to your family, your friends, your colleagues... Share the campaign by email, sms and/or on your social networks. Like and comment on the campaign page. It will help us to make it more visible on the KissKissBankBank website. Make a donation. With or without rewards, every € will help us move forward in this beautiful project. Un Enorme Merci!