Living the Dream: Owning a Vineyard in France

For many wine connoisseurs the idea of owning your own vineyard is a dream come true and for those truly looking to fulfil that dream there is no better place to do it than in France.

France is renowned for being amongst the best wine growing regions in the world and is famed for the quality of their wine production. But how do you go about turning your dreams of owning and producing your own wine into a reality?

For two people this dream became a reality following a tragic turn of events. In September 2001 Jonathan Hesford, an Englishman and his New Zealand wife, Rachel Treloar, were living in New York, a block away from the World Trade Center. During the course of that day on September 11th they lost their home and their jobs, which forced them to re-evaluate their lifestyles. They decided to quit the rat race and pursue their dream of producing their own wine, but wanted to do it properly. So they first moved back to England took a short course in winemaking and some volunteer work at Halfpenny Green Vineyards in Staffordshire. Discovering they thoroughly enjoyed the work and had acquired a taste for it they moved to New Zealand for 3 years to study Viticulture and Winemaking as well as working for several other high quality vineyards.

In 2005 they moved back to Europe with a view to starting their own business and decided to settle in France, in particular, the Languedoc-Roussillon region. In January 2006 they bought an old winery near the village of Trouillas in the Aspres region of the Roussillon. They invested in some mature vines and set to work. Since then Jonathan and Rachel have worked tirelessly to make sure their business is a success, they admit it’s been hard work but it provides them with a varied and healthy lifestyle which makes it all worth while.

So what lessons have they learnt and what advice would they give those thinking of following in their footsteps?

1. As with anything in life, to be successful it is important to know what you are doing. Learn as much as possible about wine growing, what it takes to run a vineyard and look to get as much hands on experience as possible.
2. Make sure you have a solid sales and marketing plan in place. Just because you produce wine it doesn’t necessarily mean it will sell easily. You need to make sure you’ll be able to sell the fruits of your labour in order to make a success of your business.
3. Make sure you are fully aware of administration requirements. It would be advisable to speak to SAFER, the government body that oversees the transfer of all agricultural property in France.
4. Before you start looking for your ideal property you first need to decide what kind of vineyard you want and what you will do with the grapes. After that you need to research where you want your business to be located before starting your property search.
5. Make sure you use a specialist property agent and not a high street immobilier. You can find plenty of French property agents online to help kick start your search.
6. Make sure you are aware of the property buying process in France. Also check out the details of any legal requirements that you may need to register before starting your business. It’s also a good idea to visit the Chambre d’Agriculture to discuss yours places with one of their advisors.
7. Finally, it goes without saying; make sure you have the capital that is required to fund your new venture. Don’t forget to factor in for the equipment you’ll need, expenses and living costs to see you through to a time when your business will start to break even.

If your dream is to own and run your own vineyard then all the best in your venture, remember, to plan, prepare, research and work hard and enjoy the experience.