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A French geologist whose early career was spent in the petroleum industry has turned her attention to vineyards. In Burgundy she is effectively destroying some long held views. Or myths, as she calls them. But for some of the best winemakers she is opening up fascinating possibilities. She is arming them with much more detailed analysis of their soils and sub-soils than has been previously understood.
Francoise Vannier-Petit has, as the last part of her surname suggests, a diminutive form. Her personality is both tenacious and lively. As she talks, she warms to her subject; the words tumble out, her eyes sparkle. She races through a brief history of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, vividly depicts the Alps pushing up 33 million years ago, describing reliefs and fractures; the relief of the Cotes de Nuits and Beaune has existed for 25 million years but the very cold climate, with its freeze and thaw cycles of the last 2 million years, strongly affected the hill-sides we know today. Diving into her bag she produces maps she has made showing the resulting geology of the vineyards, pinpoints exactly where changes occur and what that implies. Audiences find it thrilling.
As a child, growing up in the Saone-et-Loire region she spent time with her grandparents roaming the countryside, while her mother worked as a teacher. At school she was drawn to science subjects, but she was “surrounded by nature”, as she puts it.
It was while studying at Dijon University that she met her husband, a fellow student. After a Masters, she specialised in off shore exploration in the petroleum industry. Based in Paris, she travelled extensively. In 2001, when she was considering whether to take up an opportunity in Angola, her husband was offered an interesting academic post at Dijon University. They decided as a family to move back and establish a home in the Cote d’Or where their third child was born. This meant a change of direction for Francoise. It took a little time to adapt but she admits to finding it nice not to have the pressure of working for a big international company.
Walking this countryside, as she did regularly, meant frequenting vineyards as well as the coombs and woods above them, which have an influence on the vines. As she hiked she was noticing strata, and features in the landscape which, to a geologist, clearly lay open the history of these golden slopes. Scrambling through the many small quarries which dot the vineyards –the stone was taken to build the local villages and occasional chateau - she took note of the legacy of many preceding generations. The word “perrieres”, for instance, in vineyard names, is evidence of these medieval quarries. The scientist in her began to analyse just what was there. Before long she was talking to winemakers and helping them understand the composition of their sub soils and the real history of their vineyards.
She was very struck by their lack of knowledge of geology. Drawing on her experience in industry, she set up her own consultancy. Marsannay was the first commune, in 2003, to ask for her services, and she quickly understood that there was a social element to the history of the climats. There are three villages – Chenove, Marsannay-la-Cote, and Couchey, close to the city of Dijon which have this appellation.
A century ago these villages were prosperous as they supplied the growing nearby urban population with table wines. In order to satisfy demand there had been a massive planting of the Gamay grape, giving fresh fruity drinking. The terrible depression of the 1930s caused great economic suffering in the Cote d’Or and led to the creation of A.O.C (appellation d’origine controlee),designed to help in the marketing of fine wines. This was when most of the Grands Crus and Premiers Crus ,whose names are now known anywhere in the world where Burgundy lovers congregate, were classified. But Marsanay et al, protected from hardship by their vibrant local trade, did not seek classification. Taking the long view, this was a mistake.
Today, these villages consider that they form the “golden gateway” to the Cote de Nuits. They now want 14 of the best lieu-dits,(named individual vineyards) to have Premier Cru recognition. This would make a significant difference to their sales, and incomes. Francoise was commissioned by a group of growers to help them make a case to the relevant authorities for an up-grade. She has since mapped the sub-soils of the vineyards of Fixin and Gevrey-Chambertin. Putting two maps of the latter side by side the difference between that of the appellations and that of the actual geology is fascinating. Maps of other villages are in the pipeline. Nuits St. Georges wants Grand Cru status for the St. Georges vineyard; some of the best growers in Pommard feel that Rugiens and Epenots deserve the same.
Not all growers stand to gain from the discoveries she makes. If you own vines in a Grand Cru vineyard, and it is demonstrated that not all the subsoils are of the same quality, this may not be good news. “There are some vignerons who don’t want to know the truth about what is under their vines – not many now, but things evolve slowly. It is not the Grands Domaines – people like Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanee Conti are very open.” Increasingly, individual growers contact her. There have been occasions when she has discovered up to five types of sub-soil in one lieu-dit, something of immense value on a technical level.
She has discovered many things that she wasn’t taught at Dijon University, and in doing so has burst a lot of bubbles about the idea of history. “There is nothing much natural after 2000 years! The work of man has modified, especially during the last 1000 years of real activity, the original structure of the soil. Terroir is “ un lieu donne” which is given value by the work of Man – it’s not just geology. But there is an idea that the gods gave, or at least blessed, the terroir. Actually, in the past, up to the 19th century, the “gout de terroir” was considered a fault!” Some Burgundians think that sounds like sacrilege. You can understand when she says there are times when she feels she is walking on a knife-edge.
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