Life After Verification

Janick Bergeron, Synopsys

Two years ago, Francoise left her job as a VMM/verification CAE with Synopsys. Her husband Pierre similarly quit his job at a large semi-conductor company. They embarked on a career change, the magnitude of which few of us undertake voluntarily: they traded high-tech careers and their Porsches for a tractor and ATV and took over Francoise’s father’s vineyard in south-western France

I had the pleasure of working with Francoise for several years before and, upon hearing the news, the wine-enthusiast in me quickly promised to help her with her harvest. This year, I made good on my promise. On October 27th, at 12:30pm, my girlfriend and I landed at the Pau airport, full of energy and anticipation at the prospect of experiencing a tiny sliver of a winemaking tradition that goes back 400 years.

North Americans have a very distorted sense of time. One hundred years is “old” to us. Very few can trace their ancestry on this continent beyond a few generations.

Francoise’s winery, Domaine Guirardel, is housed in the original home and barn. They were built at the same time Samuel de Champlain was busy establishing Quebec City. The “new” house is 300-years old. Both are nestled on a south-facing hill with an incredible view of the Pyrenees. The domaine has never been sold: it has always been passed down through generations.

The postcard atmosphere of the place immediately reminded me of the movie “A Good Year”. A hammock is hung between two palm trees. Jean, Francoise’s father, is at work in an immense garden that is the source of many of the vegetables we will be eating throughout our stay. Lunch is often served on the front patio, under the protective shade of a huge oleander tree.

The vineyard is small: 5 hectares planted with Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, two of the five varietals that make up the Jurancon appelation. The harvest is done entirely by hand by uncles, aunts, in-laws, cousins and friends, most of whom have been helping with the harvest for many years. Of the 20 or so harvesters, it is a first experience for only four of us.

The work is simple: armed with shears, one cuts the bunches of golden grapes from the vines into plastic buckets. The content of full buckets is then transferred to a large bin behind the tractor.

The day starts at 9am. We break for lunch at 1pm, then resume at 3pm until 5pm. It is intense but not hard work. Despite the physical nature of the work, shuffling along the vines shifting buckets up the hill and untangling twisted bunches of grapes, I was surprised to discover that it is accomplished in a very social and jovial atmosphere. Everyone is chatting and updating one another on common acquaintances.

Lunch is reminiscent of a Thanksgiving dinner in the U.S. Everyone gathers in the dinning room, in front of a fireplace large enough to roast an entire cow, and share in a feast of delicacies from various French regions: home-made peach wine, raw oysters from Brittany, sausages from Corsica, wine from Bordeaux, Bearn pork bellies and many others.

Going back to the fields filled with so much great food is not easy! But the grapes cannot wait and we must make the best of the ideal weather conditions. Francoise and her father have been working in the chais since 7am, busily cleaning the press to receive the freshly-picked grape. And they will continue to work after dinner to complete the last pressing of the day.

At the end of the day, under Francoise’s watchful eyes, everyone gathers again in the Tasting Room for a glass of the proprietor’s wine. It gives us a glimpse of what our (and her) labor will yield in two years.

Trading a keyboard, mouse and a well-paying secure job for a mechanical press, half a dozen stainless steel vats, oak barrels and the uncertainties of climate vagaries requires more courage than I possess! They are bringing their technical and marketing savoir-faire to this artisanal enterprise in the hopes of ensuring the future of their two children. For example, they are continuing the production of a late-harvest version of their wine, an experiment that was started back in 2005 and repeated only once in 2007. They are also planning to reclaim vines currently leased to another producer and, under the aegis of being a “young farmer”, plant additional vines in a new parcel of land.

She produces three wines: Tradition, Bi de Prat and Vendanges Tardives. They are very fruity, syrupy white wines similar to Sauterne, excellent with foie gras. Unlike most white wines, hers will improve with age, up to 20 years. A few years ago, I had the great fortune of tasting the 1967 vintage: it was the color of maple syrup and was totally sublime. Unfortunately, her wines are not available in North America (which makes the dozen or so bottles I have in my cellar even more precious!).

The French have a poor reputation when it comes to visitors. But it has never been my experience – nor mustn’t it be for the majority of visitors that continue to make France the single-most visited country in the world. And it most definitely has not been the case for our 6-day stay with Francoise and Pierre. We were welcomed in their home and immediately treated like family. It has been a wonderful experience that I hope I’ll be able to repeat next year.

For further reading (in french): http://www.sudouest.com/accueil/actualite/vin/article/757483/mil/5310416.html