@lilichiengdemontal6597 is the director of Branding and Business Development at Château d’Arton and an accomplished designer and art director
Hello Lili from Montal; How are you ? Very good ! Hello Berthe. I am really delighted and happy to finally be able to meet you, to be able to talk about your journey, which, when we met, really had an impact on me. And I wanted to go
A little deeper and really introduce you to my listeners, people who will discover this video. So let’s start at the beginning; So you are of Chinese origin, you were born in Paris; You stop me if I say stupid things; you truly are a city girl through and through. I say why, because later
When we discuss, it will come back to the subject. Tell me a little about your background: First you studied management and business in Reims, then in Beijing. You also studied fashion in France and you also studied in London. Tell me a little bit about your
Background, your beginnings and then we’ll move on to what happened with the Lacoste brand. Okay, so the journey in brief: a childhood in Paris, very happy, very urban as you said. And then, a bit of the whirlwind of the city; the different possible academic paths. I think
Mine was really dedicated to creation. Then I have a family that is very creative; my mother an architect, many architects in my family who have been living in Europe for several decades now and then, I finally chose to study business coupled with creation; so that explains my academic choices a little. So
I went to Reims, because it was probably the only university in France at the time; which offered a university exchange with China and then I went to continue my studies in Shanghai and Beijing, so still in the field of commerce and then
At the same time, indeed, I worked for Lacoste and I opened the office Lacoste in Shanghai while I was still a student. And then I combined these business studies with design studies, in particular with a master’s degree in London at Central Saint
Martin’s School of Design. And today, that’s my great pleasure: it’s combining creation with performance; and then with perhaps the commercial side of communication; that’s about identity on brands, brand building. And we can say that you are truly an expert in brand strategy, since once you
Worked with Lacoste, when you were in China, you were the founder and director of Dream Ming, with three divisions, one to Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong. And you helped Chinese companies position themselves in terms of identity and
Brand strategy; and you are also a member of the executive committee and director of the communications group for Bluebell Group, to transform corporate culture. Tell us a little about these two adventures. Yes then, Dream Ming you know, it’s a name
That was created: Ming is my Chinese first name, it means clarity and Dream therefore the dream. And so my project was to bring clarity to the brands’ project, to the brands’ dream. I think my ultimate dream was to one day have my own brand; what I’m doing today!
But so at the time, I was 20 years old, a little past 20 years old. I had already done my internships and my first professional experience at Lacoste. And it’s true that Lacoste was, at the time, a family house, with a big stake in
The identity of the Lacoste brand. So identity, namely, its desirability, its positioning, its imagination. When you think of Lacoste, what does it refer to? 20 years ago , well not much. This identity was very confused and so it was thanks to 7 years at Lacoste that I also learned how to build,
How to create a strong and lasting brand. Because it is not just a question of making a coup, a tour de force, with a campaign that is very creative and striking, but it is also necessary that over the long term, this brand has references
Strong, that is to say a powerful imagination to which you immediately refer; So it’s really thanks to Lacoste, and thanks to a very special gentleman, called François Leblond, who is no longer with us today. But who, as
One of my bosses at Lacoste told me, taught us to tell the time with our watch! Very often, brands do not necessarily have perfect control of what constitutes their uniqueness, their identity; because in fact all of these are really tools that cannot be improvised. It’s a real profession, the brand strategist,
The one who will help to formalize what this brand is made of, who will make it strong over time: its brand language, which will bring this visual and sensory coherence in all types of environment; whether it is an olfactory,
Sound, or spatial environment. And this is also precisely the studies that I followed in London; so it’s a master’s degree called Narrative Environments, that is to say environments that tell stories . So we had in our classes, a lot of people who came
From museums, others who came from history, a lot of journalists and then a lot of graphic designers and architects. So everything that was spatial and the fact that today, it is even more true with all the technology that surrounds us, and which
Supports us in our daily lives. How are we going to take care of this user experience? So this whole Dream Ming project was ultimately about bringing this expertise, which I tested and learned with Lacoste: how to bring it to support and build Chinese brands. So that was the
Original project when I arrived in Asia; so here we are talking about 20 years ago already. And it turns out that I have just returned from a 5-week tour in Asia, including China, where I studied 20 years ago, and it’s true that when I see
Chinese brands today today, well I’m completely fascinated. This was precisely what I wanted to do 20 years ago. There they are, they succeeded very well, but it’s already quite overwhelming for me. And then, am I happy about it, yes!
Very happy that China is also its own identity I was going to say, you see in terms of its style; I’m not just talking about fashion and cosmetics but in all everyday consumer goods: it’s quite dizzying too, because it’s a certain rhythm that we have to maintain but that’s it, that’s
It. Dream Ming adventure. I actually had three offices, because I lived in these three cities. Among my clients, I had the Bluebell group, which is a very beautiful family business, still French, but established in Asia since 1954. At the time, they had created houses , finally perfume boutiques and they exported perfumes. Westerners
In Asia. So it started with this business and then they diversified into fashion, into accessories and today they are in around ten product categories which includes cigars, FNB (Food and Beverages), always lots of fashion, accessories, glasses, watches, cosmetics of course. At Bluebell, I joined their Executive Committee (Execution Committee), for
Communication and to help them a little to work on this “employer brand”, because it’s their idea: it’s to be the brand behind the brands, that is to say the structure which will help the brands to develop better in Asia and
For this they have a role of curator, therefore of brand curation, since they will select these Western brands and then adapt them, transpose them. I was going to say how a translator will adapt his language to be able to reach
Asian audiences. I first wanted to come back to the fact that when Lacoste approached you, you were barely 19 years old, so they suggested you open this representative office in Beijing, to participate in the positioning of the brand. It’s very young, you didn’t feel any pressure or how did it happen?
Precisely this assumption of responsibility and finding yourself in a position like that, still opening a representative office in Beijing. How did you feel at that moment in your life? So it happened very gradually. So, I started my internship at 19, I was in my late twenties, it was
A position if you like, the stakes weren’t huge, because at the time, that’s -to say that it was the parent company that wanted to have a representative office, to be able to better assist their local partners, namely those who operated the brand, who distributed the brand
, particularly for clothing. So it was more of a representative office, but one that would intervene a lot on the image and coherence of the Lacoste brand, which was precisely lacking in China; and which even today, 20 years later, is still not completely resolved. Lacoste
Is a brand that has been widely copied so there were ultimately a lot of fairly well-known lawsuits. Other Chinese brands, in particular, which were called crocodile and which had the same emblem in the other direction, well a little in all directions; so it was really a textbook case! So Lacoste actually in China,
You should know that China was very far away at the time and China was not expensive at the time. So that’s why I say the stakes were quite low, well quite low! However, I was lucky enough to be able, at the age of 20, to open this representative office in Shanghai,
With a colleague who was really responsible for the administrative part, and I was more in charge of creative and operational support. So China also gave me the opportunity to express myself, on a creative level, because as the
Costs were quite low, and it is a country very far away, well we perhaps had more freedom than in Europe and the West. I took this chance to have fun, express myself creatively, but also tell myself that perhaps I can also translate,
For the local audience, which might work better than what we do ! Because everything was dictated by the headquarters and, inevitably, when we are in Paris, Place Vendôme, we do not have this proximity. So I had this role of cultural bridge and
Therefore, my job was to imagine creative concepts to be able to better interact and then reach these Chinese audiences. It turns out that at that time, at that time, there was , it was a great Chinese director, Wong Kar-Wai, who had produced a major brand campaign
For Lacoste. At the time, it was quite new to do this extremely type of campaign, I was going to say, which was not at all about a product, but which was much more about a brand universe. So it was an initiative of Bernard Lacoste who recruited me; And Bernard
Lacoste was married to a Japanese lady, therefore Asian, and therefore was very sensitive to the Asian world and he had chosen Wong Kar-Wai to produce this campaign, and I had also taken this opportunity a little bit to exploit this campaign because in fact this director
Is extremely well known throughout China, and I simply found that he was not at all, that his campaign was not exploited, it existed but it was not used to being able to address the Chinese, and maybe that was a
Bit of a turning point, because I really used what existed as a resource, and then I simply staged it and changed the activation formats and whether it be exhibitions, events, etc… I used what we had as a resource that was relevant, to be able to deploy
This resource to local audiences; and it’s true that it worked extremely well! So not only had we saved a lot, in terms of budget, in terms of expenses, but it was also relevant, that is to say, the message was: we were not in Mexico, you see what I I mean, it was
Exactly geography. So everything was accelerated a little: very quickly Lacoste offered me to join them at the headquarters, therefore Place Vendôme in Paris, which corresponded to my personal project since I had a French fiancé. And
I had to decide if I stayed in China or if I came back to France to make a life with him, who is now my husband! And it’s a really great opportunity for me; it’s a good springboard to swing to the other side: this
Second part, we’re going to talk about your life. Because we are now going to talk about the Arton adventure. So for those obviously who don’t know, you will explain to us what it is. You have just spoken of this fiancé who today is your husband; and it’s not
Just any fiancé since it’s Jean de Montal, who is nevertheless the descendant of one of the two oldest families in France. I’ll let you explain to us why I say that. And so you have three children together and you spent several years, as you said, in Asia. Now you have returned to
France; Explain to us a little bit, when I talk about family, why I say the oldest family, so that our listeners understand exactly why I say that. And why did you decide to return to France? Yes, two very old Gascony families that’s for sure! So Jean’s mother is Montesquiou so Victoire de Montesquiou
D’Artagnan and his father is called Patrick de Montal, so on both sides effectively, it’s 10 centuries in Gascony. On the Victoire side, then Montesquiou Batz de Castelmore; It is very well known because these ancestors, and therefore two uncles, who were called
D’Artagnan, very strongly inspired Alexandre Dumas in the writing of The Three Musketeers! So it’s the fictional character of d’Artagnan, who was very strongly inspired by two people who really existed: an uncle and a nephew who, in reality, existed 50 years apart! But it is their prowess which constituted this character
Of d’Artagnan in the novel! So Victoire is a direct descendant of this family; she also has cousins named Jean-Louis and Claire de Montesquiou; they also have an Armagnac house in lower Armagnac, which is called the Espérance estate, and
Between the two families, therefore Montal and Montesquiou, there are four Armagnac houses. So on the Patrick de Montal side , so their family dates back to the 15th century, so a little more recent, and Victoire, indeed there too, a family anchored in Gascony since the 15th century!
And there too, two Armagnac houses on that side. So that means that Montal – Montesquiou is the culture of Armagnac, it’s Gascony! They, therefore my husband’s parents, did not immediately settle in Gascony; They grew up here, but they spent the first part of their
Lives, their careers, in the Paris region. Because on both sides, they did not inherit the family homes. So they grew up here, during holidays, during family reunions and during the war too. And then they stayed around Paris. One, Patrick, as a journalist in the media, and the other, Victoire, worked
On French television. And it was only around the age of 40 that they decided to return to Gascon lands; where they grew up! And at that point, they acquired Arton. So Arton is a domain; so it’s an address, it’s a wine estate; A very old wine estate
But which was uprooted 100 years ago because of philoxera which, for those who don’t know, is roughly the equivalent of covid in the city. It’s a disease. So there, in the case of philoxera, it was an aphid which had ravaged all the vines in France! It was something totally global in fact; but
In France it was particularly virulent and therefore at the end of the 19th century, beginning of the 20th, three quarters of the French vineyard had to be uprooted because of this disease! And so it did not spare our region in Gascony, and in particular in Haut Armagnac, which
Is the terroir on which the Arton estate is located. So Haut Armagnac is qualified by its altitude; High is for altitude. So Bas Armagnac, which is better known and is at a lower altitude. And it is precisely this attitude that has enabled Bas Armagnac to
Keep its vines; because the only way to get rid of the philoxera was to drown the vine in water. And Bas Armagnac being in the Landes and at low altitude, there are many more rivers, much closer to the sea. So they managed to save their vines and preserve them. Whereas in Haut Armagnac,
We are not very high, 200 m above sea level. Well, between this altitude and our soil which is limestone in nature, there is much less water. Haut Armagnac was unable to preserve its vines; so everything was ripped out and replaced by other cultures! As Gascony is extremely fertile, you have
Market gardening, nuts, melons, garlic. So it was replaced. So the parents arrived around the age of 40 and chose to settle in Arton. I specify this because it is true that we repeated the story, since my husband and I also did the same. A first
Part of his career in the city, to generalize, first in France. Then we went back together to Asia for 7 years; where we lived in Hong Kong and Singapore. So that’s where I created Dream Ming, and then several years after working at
Lacoste; And then at that time, I joined the Bluebell group, etc. We return to France, precisely around our forties, with this desire to get closer to the Arton estate and perhaps one day, take over the estate. And it’s going to happen during
The pandemic, but you have already started to tell us a little bit about the story of your parents-in-law, who returned to Gascony, who bought this property in Arton, this château d’Arton. What did they do with it? You should know that Victoire’s father, Pierre de Montesquiou,
Was the founder of the Marquis de Montesquiou house, which was then acquired by Pernod Ricard, and he has just been resealed. Indeed, Armagnac has always been in their education and in their childhood. Pierre de Montesquiou also created the brotherhood of the Musketeers of Armagnac; which
Today is led by his son, Victoire’s brother, Aymeri de Montesquiou, and also Aymeri’s son, who is ensuring the new generation of this brotherhood. It is a brotherhood that is international; there are around 3500 of us! So I say “we” because I was inducted this year! Oh Congratulations! Thank you then as
Pierre, our cousin, Aymeri’s son, replied to me, you have to deserve it! This is not an easy induction to achieve. You have to deserve it: firstly, you have to be a lover of Gascony and then promote Gascony in the broad sense, throughout the world,
And then, more particularly, the two entities which are in the fundamentals of this brotherhood: on one side it is d’Artagnan and the musketeers, and on the other side it is Armagnac. So I think that personally, Jean and I deserved this induction for our contribution
To Armagnac, that’s for sure! Then, it’s not just Armagnac producers who are in this brotherhood. Really, it’s a network of 3,500 people and they are first and foremost lovers of Gascony. And I believe that they have achieved this feat of having constituted this international community where when we travel, we can contact another
Musketeer, we will be welcomed as lovers of Gascony and we are generally extremely well received. So there are several squadrons; it’s called that, in different countries, which are very dynamic, which meet regularly and which praise Gascony. So yes, Pierre de Montesquiou is very invested in
Armagnac. And indeed, when the parents decide to come back here, they are not farmers! And for them, the most obvious thing is to create a trading house in Armagnac; that is to say, we do not produce Armagnac, but we market it. So, there are often, in all agricultural sectors, there are always
Producers and traders; that is to say those who produce, who raise, and then those who market. The most obvious thing for them, when their parents returned, was to create a trading house. That is to say, they were going to buy barrels of Armagnac, already in barrels, which had already
Started their aging well, and to select them from different houses, to then raise them themselves; why not assemble them and then sell them under their own brand. So that’s when Patrick joined forces with his cousin, and together they created the “Armagnac de Montal” house, which still exists today. So that
Was the first part of the installation of their arrival in Gascony; therefore the acquisition of this wine estate called Arton, and at the same time the creation of this trading house, which is called Armagnac de Montal. And then there are lots of things going to happen:
Perhaps the first big novelty, and I would say Patrick’s pride, is to have succeeded in exporting Armagnac vintages to the United States! The United States, a country extremely fond of Brandy, that is to say aged fruit brandy, often aged in barrels! And a big fan of Cognac
Obviously. And Patrick, with this desire to clearly differentiate cognac from Armagnac, or Armagnac from cognac, and for whom the notion of vintage was particularly attached to Armagnac, which sets Armagnac apart from cognac. And Patrick achieved this feat of convincing American institutions to accept the notion of
Vintage for a Brandy, for a spirit. So it’s happening… I’ll cut you a little short: what didn’t exist before the vintage for Armagnac? It’s just for Cognac; No ! All right. No, that didn’t exist for Cognac either! In fact, there was no such thing as Brandy, spirits!
It did not exist for strong alcohols, etc… It existed for wines obviously but not for strong alcohols and not for Brandy; so not for cognac, because in fact, cognac, basically, there is no vintage, Cognac is the fruit of blends. So today, you have certain Cognac houses which vintage their vintage,
But it is a tiny minority. I would say that the particularity of Armagnac, what will really distinguish it from Cognac, is this notion of vintage. For what ? Because Armagnac belongs to wine culture; and this is Patrick’s entire approach , to reposition, to reintegrate Armagnac into
Wine culture and to explain the importance of the vintage, of this notion of vintage, of year. That’s to say; when we talk about a year, we talk about weather, we talk about precise characteristics of the year; which remains in Armagnac, therefore Armagnac carries this notion of vintage, in terms
Of taste, finally in terms of the nose of the palate, the aromatic profile. So this is a major press release that he managed to achieve in 2001 in the United States, under the Armagnac de Montal brand. And then, all this time, they arrive in the years, very
Early 80s, in Arton. In 79, they settled in Arton, and during these 20 years, between 1980 and the 2000s, there will be a great personal journey for Patrick, where he will be inhabited by a mission, which is that of explaining which will constitute
The unique character of Armagnac. That is to say, how is Armagnac a special spirit and different from others? So the answer really lies in belonging to the culture of wine, even if Armagnac is a spirit, that is to say a strong alcohol, above 40° alcohol, nevertheless it remains in the culture of
Wine ! In fact, the explanation is totally technical: We will surely come to it because, ultimately, it is also a mission that we decided , Jean and I, and also Fabrice, who is the 3rd musketeer, who is our partner today
In the field, we decided together to carry out this mission, to continue it, because unfortunately, in 2024, it is not yet sufficiently known; that is to say that there is still a lot of confusion between Armanac and Cognac but also, we do not understand how Armagnac
Is different and special. So, it’s up to us now, the 2nd generation, to carry this message a little bit. And this is what I really enjoy doing today in my daily life. And then for 2024, I have a big project, to completely reform this
Name. And I think I’m very lucky: one, to be a woman and two, to be quite new to the world of spirits. Because often when you’re new in a new industry, you can explain things better than people who have been there forever. Because we were there; 3 years ago,
I knew nothing about wine, about Armagnac, and so today, not only do I enjoy it, but I have an easier time explaining Armagnac to those who don’t know it. And then, you decide during the pandemic, you come back here to France. And before returning to
Settle permanently in Gascony, you will first work for a very short time for Lancel, again as artistic director in Paris. This is during the pandemic, but that’s not really what you like the most. And you actually told me that your dream
Had always been to have your own brand! And so, suddenly, you say to yourself and your husband, we decide to move to Gascony, but your in-laws, Victoire and Patrick, put two conditions on you; two conditions precisely to take back the domain:
After everything they have done. What are these two conditions? And how did you manage to say to yourself, with your husband, that’s it, that’s it, we’ve made up our minds, we’re not going back to Asia anymore, we’re staying in France? I am in Asia with my husband, we have
Three children, we are very comfortable, we are very happy in Asia, but at the same time, we realize that the parents are tired. They are over 80 years old and so we see lots of little signals, because they are tired, they live with
Two clocks. Finally, Asian time and time in Gers. And then, we hear the message that it’s far away, that they can’t come, they’re tired! There is Arton, it’s a lot of charges, so we are sensitive to all these signals. And
So after 7 years in Asia, we decided to return to France; not necessarily directly to Arton, but at least to return to France, to also send us the signal that we are getting closer… And with my husband, the plans were still very vague. On the other hand, we know that it is important
To get closer to parents. The deal I had with Jean was that we would be in Asia for a while, because my parents are in China, so you see! But hey, I’ve had this for 7 years and I’ve enjoyed it. Seven years later,
We decided to return to France. And we come back to Paris, because that’s the easiest thing. I’m Parisian, we have lots of friends in Paris, it’s easy for schools; for life, for logistics, we decided to settle in Paris! That’s when
I took on this mission for Lancel, which lasted 1 year, even if for me it was as if it had lasted 3. Ultimately it was a very painful experience; I think I can say it here today. Painful because it was a complicated situation, the house
Had just been bought by an Italian group. For more than 50 years, it had belonged to the Richemont group and therefore it had finally been transferred from the French heritage, to join an Italian group. So there was this whole transition there, there was this integration of a French team
In an Italian culture. I arrived right in this tornado; and then my mandate was to work on the Lancel brand, the Lancel positioning, namely , what identity for this iconic 150-year-old French house! A very difficult mission, and at the same time, which was a real turning point for me at the end
Of that year. I understood that I had to have my own brand in fact, that I no longer wanted to work for other people’s brands, but truly be in charge, and then no longer make recommendations, recommendations, but ultimately put implement my own
Strategic vision! And anyway, it had been my dream for 20 years, with Dream Ming, to one day have my own brand. And then, the obvious thing was Arton. In fact, Arton has become obvious. So it turns out that at that moment, we are confined and that’s what will
Actually accelerate everything: we knew that we were coming back to France, to be closer to our parents, we thought that we was going to have perhaps a period of 5 years, where we would each have a career chapter in Paris, or elsewhere, before perhaps
Joining Arton. So we are not yet 40 years old and then we are confined. There is confinement, we decide to go to Arton, for obvious reasons, that it would be much more pleasant to be in the countryside. And there we position ourselves
In the core of the reactor, that is to say we are at the center of the domain, and then we see the domain completely differently from the inside. And there, we realize that the parents are indeed tired; we realize that the team is also
Tired. Obviously, the entire economy is completely disrupted, so that means that the entire CHR (Cafes, Hotels, Restaurants), catering industry is closing. So if you want, the orders, the order book disappears. So, we find ourselves in the center of the domain
With lots of problems. And then we realize that we have to do something; And all of this is concomitant with the end of my mission at Lancel. So in a fairly, I was going to say natural way, because I’m my in-laws, I’m
Starting to help, I’m starting to get involved in Arton’s operations. And then, obviously, I take my husband with me; I take my husband with me because we have to study, we have to analyze the figures, we have to look at the situation. And then in a year, after confinement,
We have a discussion with the parents and that’s where transmission finally begins, and at the same time transmission is not something that can be improvised, it’s difficult; I think it’s difficult in all cases, a family transmission in addition, because it implies the parents accept, you see, to pass the baton
Accept that others, that the new generation take decisions, and therefore to finally let their baby, finally their creation, their treasure take a flight other than their own. That’s it ! It’s a stage that is extremely emotionally intense,
And it also implies that we, who are going to receive this project, have the shoulders and we are alive. Family transmissions, I believe, are difficult. In our case, we were helped by a wonderful person, who specializes in family governance and who helped make this transmission possible. So it will take about
More than a year in the end to really take effect. And as you said earlier, Patrick and Victoire imposed two conditions on us to resume: the first is to come and live on the estate and it’s not easy! Because it’s a different lifestyle, it’s something else,
It’s no longer the city in fact! Me, all my life, I have lived between Paris, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and all my missions at Lancel and at Bluebell have sent me to other cities: to the United States, to Australia; So there’s no such thing as a more urban girl than me
! And then we have three grandchildren so it’s a whole different school system, well it’s a total life change! That’s it first condition! And the second condition is to stay on wine, on the wine business and not just on Armagnac. Because on the Arton estate,
This wine property, we produce bottles of wine, table wines, and also Armaganc . So for connoisseurs, Armagnac is made from wine, but it’s not the same grape varieties, it’s not the same grapes and it’s not the same preparation! So, we prepare a specific wine which is for distillation, which is dedicated to distillation
, whereas table wines are vinified differently. So we start from the vineyard, and then there is a different trajectory when we prepare the wine, if it is for distillation to make Armagnac, or if it is intended to be consumed as wine. table wine, like Gascony wines. And there, Patrick tells us that
We must stay in the wine business. Whereas at the time, the majority of Arton’s production , well Arton’s operations, was wine. So it might have been surprising that they told us that if you want to take back Arton, you have to stick to the wine, because you might
Think that the vast majority of it is already wine. So why would we stop. And in fact, it took me about 2 years to understand. So, first of all because we have done our calculations, and that, you know, when we take over a company, when
We go into agriculture, it is not at all the same calculations of yield, of profitability, return on investment. So this is a big decision, ultimately financial and personal, and family. Working in agriculture is… It’s something else It’s not a business plan; it’s actually not industrial.
We work, we enter into the living and here today, I don’t know if it’s precisely because I’m over 40, or is it because I live in the campaign for 3 years, but there is a real difference between the industrial world
And the living world. So it’s not the same issues and above all it’s that, in the living world, we depend entirely on the living; that is to say the planet, finally the weather… The environment. Exactly ! So it turns out that Jean, my husband, is an engineer in sustainable development. He specializes in
Sustainable development and therefore in the environment; so it’s something he knows well and it’s absolutely fundamental. Moreover, in the takeover of Arton, so a little aside, sustainable development is essentially three things: it is the management of water, a
Natural resource, the management of waste, so what do we do with all of them? this waste? How can we transform them so that they become alternative energies? And that’s land management, okay? So, natural resources, and at the same time, very often polluted! So this mastery of these perimeters which means
That we take over the Arton estate, we accept these two conditions, we come, we change our lives, we come to settle with the children who are schooled where Jean was at ‘school; Oh yes ! Yes ! There is even a teacher who got it and who teaches our children today!
So complete transformation of life and at the same time it’s the right timing, because at 40, we say to ourselves: I worked 20-25 years and where do I want to spend the next 40 years of my life ? There you have it, this is “middle crisis life”! I think
Everyone has questions; And in a way, the parents took exactly the same step when they decided to leave the city and settle in Gascony! So on the other hand, the merit is not the same. So, you have to say to yourself ok, it’s true, the neo-rural,
I’m leaving the city, but at the time, I still have wifi, internet, all that… The parents, when they come back , it’s as if they were going to settle in the middle of the desert! There was no not even a phone! It was another time… Yes completely! So
They were braver than us perhaps. So I’m not comparing, but in any case let’s say that we moved to the countryside 3 years ago, and then I’m extremely happy today. I am very lucky ! I also believe that I was welcomed with
Open arms by the entire local community here. So the town of Lectoure, but not only that! I would say the Gers in the broad sense, there is a joy; Well already there is a light, a wonderful sky that does not exist elsewhere! So this radiant light, summer and winter, and then of course,
The pure air of the countryside, the landscape which is sublime. We already notice, that we do not take for granted, that changes every day and then that’s it. So there is all this where suddenly we realize this planet on which we live. I say that because
Actually, I didn’t realize it before! That’s why I hope others realize it , but for me it was the luck of this radical change in lifestyle! So beyond the magnificent natural environment, there is the welcome by all the people here who welcomed my children, especially at school.
My parents were worried: would they fit in well? Well, they still have a lot of Chinese faces! Quite ! D’Artagnan must be turning in his grave! I was going to say it ! By telling me that d’Artagnan’s descendants are still
Partly Chinese! I adore ! I find it such an inspiring journey: arriving here and running a centuries-old family business, and taking up knowledge that you had no idea about not even 3 years ago! And the way you talk about it, we really see that you
Are passionate and we really see that you have trained seriously to honor your in-laws, compared to what they did for 40 years. And while respecting who you are, as a city dweller, also in relation to your training which, ultimately, helps you enormously here in management. And that’s what I find
Great, because you did something that very few people, even today in 2024, would dare to do! You arrive in a community which is nevertheless governed by rules, a community, nevertheless, which seems very united and you
Arrive and you give new life, somewhere, to a project which is there! And so you were talking, precisely, that your husband was an engineer, that he was in biodiversity. And so you are going to convert your vineyard into a biodynamic vineyard, right?
Tell me a little about what makes your vineyard special because you ‘re really interested in that. That’s exactly what you’re saying, how can you successfully continue this entrepreneurial adventure, initiated by your parents? And to finally succeed in keeping what they started; that is to say the bar was very
High! The parents were true visionaries: they were extremely daring in their risk-taking and then in their entrepreneurship. So when we decided to take it with Jean, we knew that there was also this expectation, this requirement , to be just as visionary. And biodynamics is probably the
Most courageous response, the solution, well in any case the project, the business that we initiated with Jean and Fabrice 3 years ago. Well no, in fact more than 3 years ago, it has been since 2018. Jean acquired 35 hectares, which was right next to Arton.
You know, these are opportunities like that, for farmers who sell their land and that we only get once in a lifetime! So, we had to seize this opportunity to acquire this land. In 2018, we did not hesitate to acquire 35 hectares, of which 20 hectares will be
Dedicated to vines. And straight away, at that moment, the question is how are we going to plant? So firstly, we realize that the land we bought has more life; that is to say we put a pickaxe in it, there is not a worm
Of land, there is not a snail, there is nothing left in fact! This land has been exhausted by mixed farming and by fertilizers, by pesticides, etc. And so, in fact, we can’t do anything with this land. So we will have to regenerate it; so that’s
Jean’s job! So he decides to plant Lucerne, we decide to regenerate this land. We will have to wait 4 years for life to reappear in this depth. And we are capable, we can replant this land there 2 years ago. We were
Able to plant 2 years ago and indeed, we chose organic farming of course, but we chose to immediately implement biodynamics and continue to follow the principles of permaculture that Patrick introduced to us ago. 15 years! So for those who don’t
Know, explain to us in two words what biodynamics is, for those who don’t know, and permaculture. So I’m delighted to explain it to people who don’t really know the main points at all: the difference between the two is that permaculture is how can we make a
Culture autonomous? So without intervening in it; that is to say without adding, without any input, obviously. But by reusing everything that exists, the entire ecosystem and it is a deficient form of the existing ecosystem, and ensuring that the vine does not need
Human assistance to grow, to grow and be happy and to deploy themselves. That’s permaculture! So here I am going to give you two examples of permaculture principles; I’ll give you just after biodynamics. So that’s permaculture. Biodynamics is the calendar; it is following a calendar rhythm which is that
Of the moon. So the same calendar which explains all the tides, well that’s it; It’s the same Chinese calendar I was going to say. It’s a calendar, it’s cycles: the cycles of the moon. So women, we know the moon cycle by heart; and which ultimately also explains energy movements; this
Means that a living being, whether it is a man, a plant or an animal, will have energies which will fluctuate and which will mean that they will be more disposed at certain times than at others to activities. So for example, if I talk about humans and women
, well the lunar calendar, it’s almost weekly, when the moon rises, well we have an energy, we are much more open to the outside world. , where we need to be extremely creative, where we can reach out to others, we can have lots
Of ideas, we can receive people, finally that’s it! We are extremely extroverted and willing to meet others. And then when the moon goes down, well it’s the opposite; we are going to withdraw into ourselves, we are going to have to protect ourselves and then we are going to be more sensitive. So
These are these energies. Well for the plant, it’s the same thing; There are times when the plant will be much more outward-facing, and other times when it will be necessary to protect itself because it will be more vulnerable. Well, biodynamics means respecting this
Schedule and therefore treating or not treating the vines according to these energies, okay. So to return to permaculture, I cited two examples that we practice: the first is a technology that Jean’s father, therefore Patrick, implemented 10 years ago now, which consists of treating the vine naturally through music. All right !
Because music speaks to everyone. I see you are a little skeptical. No, not at all, because I am a musician so I know how powerful and important music is; It totally speaks to me, really! Are you a musician? I am a singer, musician and actress.
So it totally speaks to me actually! Okay, so you are well placed to know that you will be able to move people through music. And in fact, there are certain music, certain sounds, melodies that make us sad and then there are others that make us want to dance. SO
In fact, music is vibrations. That’s it ! Because each wave is a sound and so it is ultimately these vibrations that will reach people’s ears and in fact, everyone’s ears translate the vibration back into sound in our ears. So that’s in humans; in animals and plants, it is in
Fact exactly the same thing, that is to say that they will feel vibrations which will have an impact on their life. So in the case of treating the vine with music, it’s something very scientific. It’s really a technology called genodics, which
Is developed by several laboratories today, but at the time, 10 years ago, it was a company called Genodics and which used this technology. there in agriculture in general, not necessarily just vines. But the advantage of having
A department specialized in vines is that you have the grape varieties, there are more than 10,000 in the world, and France is not the only country to cultivate vines. . There are vines in many countries. And in fact, the particularity is that several grape varieties can
Suffer from the same diseases. So if you are going to treat a particular disease, ultimately you will be able to benefit several grape varieties in different countries. So there is a real economy of scale there, and therefore this laboratory has a department specialized in vines. It turns out that we, at Arton, have
Two particular grape varieties, which suffer from two recurrent diseases; which are the Esca and the and the Black rot. And it turns out that this laboratory treats these two diseases specifically. So how does it work? They analyzed the diseased vine; let’s admit Esca, and in fact when
The vine is sick, it will emit vibrations, which will trigger its immune system and which will stimulate the creation of proteins, which will naturally defend it against the disease. So what I’m saying here is just the living, it’s you and me, but also animals
, we each have our own immune system which means that when we are sick, we will create proteins , antibodies. , which will naturally defend us against our illnesses. Well the vine is the same thing! These waves indicate to the body that the disease is there and
That it is necessary to create these plant proteins to defend itself against diseases. So the laboratory simply recorded, captured these vibrations emitted naturally by the vine when it is sick, and the system is simply to rebroadcast through sound, because
Like each frequency is a sound, through a loudspeaker and rebroadcasts this sound, which corresponds to its frequencies, to the vine; so that the vines receive the signal that the disease is there and that their immune system must be triggered, that these plant proteins must be created to naturally defend themselves against the
Disease. Except that the disease is not there! So in fact the idea is to act in prevention; so we’re going to broadcast this music 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the evening. This music there, of course the vine does not have ears but it has leaves, and therefore this
Leaf, as each sound is a frequency, will receive this frequency, which will be the trigger signal for the immune system by saying: be careful, the disease is there, you have to create, generate these proteins, okay. So the idea is simply prevention; we do it in
Just the right amount so that the vine does not catch the disease! OK ! I didn’t know this way of doing things at all, and I find it quite innovative I would say. Are there many other castles that do this? Finally, people who are in the vineyard who
Use this technique? So we were the first in Gascony, but today 10 years later, there are a lot of other vineyards doing it. I don’t know if there are others in Gascony, but I know that in France but also abroad. Genodix today is
A laboratory that also works a lot abroad, with this technology there. And above all, there is research, constant development in fact. What is great is that in the living world, this is where there is the most progress; There are many studies on vine diseases, on grape varieties, on soils. So
All these types of treatment are constantly being researched and invested in; so in fact this laboratory there, you know last year, there was a huge wave of mildew. So downy mildew, this other major vine disease, which is in fact
An algae which spreads and which will kill the grapes and completely dry out the grapes. And we are currently studying with this laboratory how we can strengthen the vines against downy mildew thanks to music. So you see, in fact, the terrain
Is infinite; that is to say that from the moment we work in the living, it is infinite! And that’s almost why Patrick imposed this second condition on us, you know, to take over Arton: which is to stay in the wine business.
In fact, what he told us was that we had to stay working on living things, because in reality, in France, we are a culture, we are a wine-producing country, so it is today, in 2024, finally in 2023, we were the leading wine producing country in the world!
So it is an industry, a sector, an economy which is essential for France. And it is in viticulture, therefore agriculture applied to the vine, which has the greatest progress, the greatest technological innovations. As I told you, universities, institutions, subsidies; in fact we have
A lot of aid and also financial means, and skills which are dedicated to research in viticulture. So whether it is in the study of diseases of grape varieties, whether in the soil, whether in the different techniques of breeding, winemaking, viticulture, in fact progress is in viticulture; and this is
Where in fact everything comes back to Armagnac, because Armagnac being a spirit, which belongs to the culture of wine, that is to say to the world of the living, by its nature. It is an alcohol, certainly an alcohol today, it is a strong alcohol, our Armagnac is at 45° alcohol, sometimes
50° alcohol when we do not reduce it. So indeed, it is very powerful. However, when it is distilled, that is to say when we take the raw material which is the wine and we distill it in a still, which is called the “Armagnac still”, the Armagnacais is a
Still dedicated to Armagnac. Well in fact, it is distilled, that is to say we burn the raw material, we collect the alcohol vapors, which we then condense and then we recover the brandy. So this distillation is simply, we concentrate the alcohols, we burn, we separate from the water, the water evaporates
And then we will concentrate the alcohol into something much more concentrated. And that’s why you have a strong alcohol level. However, in the world of spirits, in fact Armagnac, it is really the alcohol that is distilled to an extremely low alcohol level.
So I’ll explain, Berthe. In fact, if you look at other alcohols, for example Vodka, which is probably the most distilled alcohol in the world in terms of volume, Vodka, it’s distilled at over 95-96% alcohol. . So, it has a still which is not
That of Armagnac. It has a still with a very high column, which will burn the raw material, generally it is potatoes or cereals; and then we will concentrate the alcohols by removing all the living matter; and so if you want,
What you get at the end is 96% alcohol. Which means what’s left is 4%. 4% will be organic, living material, which is not burned, but which is around 4%! If we consider the majority of Brandy, that is to say fruit brandies and then
Those that are aged in barrels; here I’m talking about Cognac, Calvados in France, but if I extend that to Whiskey, which is also obviously another extremely well-known spirit, which is found in almost every country in the world; you are in spirits which are also distilled from raw materials, everything which is cereal
For Whiskey, apple-pear Calvados, grape in the case of Cognac, you use a particular still which is called “the still with irons”, so it is a Charentais still. And there you will distill, and what comes out of the still will contain 75% alcohol; 72-75% alcohol. And this one, this still, it is already considered
Quite low compared to Vodka. When you distill to 72-75% alcohol, you’re going to have “less than 30%” alive and then you’re going to have to raise it and then you’re going to add water to be able to drink it. So we reduce it
And then, between aging and reduction, you will obtain an alcohol for consumption which will drop to 40-45° alcohol. When we consume, when we drink alcohol, today a spirit, the alcohol level is around 40-45°. Whether it’s Vodka, Whiskey or Armagnac. So it feels like they’re all pretty much on the same level. In fact
What is interesting is to actually know at what alcohol level they are distilled. So what I was telling you is that, it’s true that in the world of spirits today, it is shared between the use of two stills, which are the most common: the first which is used for
Vodka or Gin, and which makes an alcohol distilled to a very high degree, we are at more than 95% alcohol; while the other, the Charentais still, which we use for whiskey, Cognac, Rum, is a still that has the shape of a pear, and this
Is a “iron still “so there are two distillations, and it will create an alcohol which is around 72-75 % alcohol. So in fact the second is already considered much lower, in terms of alcohol content, than the first. Except that in the case of Armagnac, it does not use either
Of these two stills. This is a third type of still, which is really extremely little used, since in fact it only exists for Armagnac. So there are certain agricultural rums that use it, and today, there are a lot of creative people who are starting to
Test it. But it is a third type of still which is “a column still” but short, so that means that it is the same principle as that of Vodka, but that of Vodka, there are 50 stages so than that for Armagnac, it has approximately 12
Floors. So it is much shorter, and the particularity of the Armaniacais still , therefore with a short column, is that it will create, it will produce a spirit, an eau de vie which has an alcohol content of 55°. So we are 20 points below Cognac or
Whiskey. We’re almost half the Vodka. And so that is for us, for Armagnac, it is absolutely essential, because that means that 45% of the material is still alive. All right ! It’s not burned! This is not the alcohol stage. So Armagnac, for almost half,
We are still alive. That’s why, 40 years ago, Patrick wanted to reinstate Armagnac in wine culture, saying that it is a separate, special spirit, because it is still extremely alive. And it is precisely this half, still organic, which is
Imbued with agricultural life; I was going to say which will evolve differently in the barrels. What I mean is that we will have in common, with Rum or Whiskey or Cognac, we will have the whole aging part, therefore the whole part after distillation. When
We put it in Gascony oak barrels, and we start aging or breeding, well what will interest us, in Armagnac, is the evolution of the part of the living half , which will be very different from a Whiskey or a Cognac. So it is precisely this living element which will bring an
Aromatic complexity, completely, quite incredible since you will have the part of wine, the part of spirits, of eau de vie and then the barrel; there will be this alchemy that will take place during breeding. And it is the living that will bring an absolutely extraordinary aromatic complexity. This is what makes Armagnac so
Special in the world of spirits! He’s truly unique, that’s really it. Pardon ? It is truly unique; can we really position it as being a little unique compared to other spirits? I think that all types of spirits have their particularities, their uniqueness, etc…
Here I am simply trying to single out Armagnac, by saying that if we really had to qualify Armagnac, how is it different from others so that we understand what is ultimately interesting. And what to cultivate, develop, nourish. And for me, but it’s actually something that
My father-in-law passed on to me, what’s wonderful about Armagnac is this liveliness! This is the fact that it is a living eau de vie, and which has an evolution which is different from all other spirits, because it is distilled at a very low degree of alcohol.
But what is ultimately the link with wine know-how and then agricultural know-how is that precisely, in France, it is in agriculture and in viticulture that there is the most of technological progress. If half of Armagnac is still alive, then all this progress, these viticultural innovations in agriculture, applied
To the city, will directly benefit Armagnac. Exactly ! Armagnac needs it! Earlier I gave you the example of the treatment of music in the vineyards, which is a principle of permaculture. For example, the second example that I wanted to give you is precisely planting, in
English it’s called “Keylines”, in French it’s actually curved rows. Today, our new plots are planted in a curve and will follow the topology, finally the inclination of the plot to be able to optimize rainwater. You know the plots are rarely flat, they always have a slope and when it rains,
As we are in an AOC terroir, that is to say Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée, that means that naturally we bring together all the optimal conditions for growing something, okay. So Armagnac is an AOC, which means that we are not allowed to water because naturally, we are supposed to
Have enough water for growing the vines. You see, it involves a lot. So last year, when there was a drought, we weren’t allowed to water. So I had 1mm of rain in 4 months! I was not allowed to water; and why
Did it help me to have these curved plantings? Well, because when it rains, you will have a much more even diffusion of the rainwater from below , because all the vines will follow the inclination of the slope. So this is a principle of permaculture and it will help us enormously in
Our culture. And I talk about it because it’s actually these curved plantations, in fact, it’s what wine growers did before the industrialization of agriculture; so this is what the Chinese still do in the mountains; you see the rice fields, they follow the
Topography of the mountain; well everything that is cultivated on a terrace is exactly the same principle. In fact, all of this is an optimization of natural resources such as water and the nutrients provided by water. So to come back to the
Benefits of permacculture, of biodynamics, it is for us, if you like, the modernity of 2024; that is to say that today, we have knowledge of all these benefits, of all these viticulture techniques that were practiced before. But before, we didn’t
Necessarily know how to explain it. Today, in the light of everything we know in 2024, we are going to reproduce, redo, reuse these practices from before, but with full knowledge, with full awareness of the natural benefits for vine cultivation . And so for us, at Arton, our deep conviction is that progress,
Modernity, is in viticulture, and that this viticulture is still preserved in Armagnac, because it is still half agricultural. ; she is still half alive. You see the link I make between viticulture, modernity of agriculture and how Armagnac benefits from it. And that’s why today, my big mission
In 2024, it will be to propagate this message that Armagnac is profoundly modern. That’s it ! But what’s also wonderful is that I think the circle has come full circle; we return to the fundamentals that have always existed. And what I find even more beautiful is that the way you
Work today is simply what our ancestors have always done. But as you said, for example the parallel between the fact that you follow the cycle of the Moon, the fact that you follow this way of having these cultures which are rather curved, it’s
As if there was a marriage who had been there for a long time but were just waiting to meet! With your Chinese origins, you say but yes that’s what we also do in China, in the villages for centuries, in the rice fields. I feel like your cultural heritage blends
Perfectly with the cultural heritage you live in today; and it feels a bit like that, it gives me an image of “the circle is closed”. As if you were really destined to arrive there: a Chinese woman who arrives at Arton, but what were the chances?
But you got there! You made this link there and that’s what I find really magnificent, it’s super beautiful because it means that everything is possible and we’re getting back to the fundamentals, what we’ve forgotten! You talk about permaculture, biodynamics but I think our
Ancestors were already doing that. In Africa it’s the same, that is to say that we arrived with modernity thinking that modernity would go faster, but in fact modernity is simply taking what existed and adding something to facilitate work I want to say… Where
, as you said, your in-laws arrived in Arton, there was no electricity, wifi, all these technologies! But they still managed, in 2001, to give Armagnac its letters of nobility, by trying to do everything so that it was in the
Vintage category! You arrive 20 years later and I really have the impression that you are the link, I want to say that, you are really the link between two cultures which blend perfectly well! Your father-in-law’s feat was precisely to have Armagnac recognized as a vintage, and your feat is to have been the
Link between these two cultures and to know how to marry them. You told me at the beginning: I really have a dream for 2024. So this dream, really explain to me where do you see yourself with Arton in the next 4-5 years? How would you like to see this really evolve?
So, it’s true that I have a mission which is not going to be easy, but I really want, I would like to reform the Armagnac appellation. So, I would like to be able to use today’s means of communication to do this, that is to say social networks. I believe
That it is a great opportunity to have these channels to be able to express ourselves directly to those who wish, to tell what I personally find great in Armagnac, and why we must continue to fight. to preserve this know-how, and then it’s a product that is
Magnificent! The big project is to reform the appellation; That means to shake things up that have been there for a long time. So it’s not going to be easy! It’s a fairly masculine world, you have to know it and at the same time do it
Consciously; that is to say, to do it while thinking about what can be truly beneficial for the entire appellation. That is to say, I am not at all trying to pull the wool over Arton, that is not the point. The idea is to say that Armagnac is an appellation
That is actually tiny. You have to have this realism, this humility to know that in the world of spirits, we are really almost non-existent. Many people don’t know this name. Armagnac has existed for 700 years, 200 years older than Cognac and yet no one knows Armagnac! So there, there are only
Connoisseurs and people, perhaps gastronomes, and perhaps French people, but in the reality of our world, of the spirits industry, it is that Armagnac is non-existent! And I think that one of the big reasons why it’s non-existent is that first of all, it’s not an industry, it’s not industrial, so
There is actually little volume; but then beyond that, the biggest tragedy of Armagnac is that it does not even exist as such, its imagination is not sufficiently clear! We don’t understand enough what’s special about Armagnac! So my desire and my project for 2024 will be to reform
The appellation a little, therefore to shake things up to establish, perhaps, new rails, new rules which allow Armagnac to stand out and to truly position oneself in the world of spirits and perhaps one day have a place at the big table; at the grown-ups’ table! So I have a real
Professional challenge coming up and then, in terms of modalities, I’m going to do it through social networks, which will also be another exercise, because it’s not easy to create content that make sense. The idea is not to further pollute the world of social networks, but rather to create
Content that will be educational and at the same time fun and at the same time informative. So that’s going to be a bit of a challenge this year. And then on the side, lots of professional projects around Arton, because things have already changed a lot in the 3 years since
We’ve been here. I find that super ambitious and that’s all the bad luck I obviously wish you. But precisely, to end on this note, let’s say, a little feminist: you are a woman, you are associated with two men, your husband and Fabrice Saramon, your oenologist for 20 years,
You find yourself in a predominantly male environment, Did you have the opportunity during your training or during your meetings to meet other women like you? Have you seen more in the 3 years you’ve been there? Have you seen any progress? More women involved in this environment? So to my great surprise,
There are actually a lot of women in Armagnac! So I am not at all the only house in Armagnac that is run by a woman. There are many others, starting with our cousin, Claire de Montesquiou, on the Espérance estate. But many others… There are also new generations arriving, so that’s great! But that
Also means that it must be economically viable; which I think is not yet the case today in Armagnac. So on this man-woman level, how do I answer you? It’s true that in all institutions, it’s largely governed by men, but hey I was going to say it’s not just specific to Armagnac! No,
I doubt that! I believe that what we bring as women is, I believe, extremely complementary and perhaps it is women who will save Armagnac! Maybe that’s true, maybe more than in other industries, I don’t know! What do they bring? What is a woman, the feminine side,
What more would that bring to you? There is perhaps a sensitivity, feminine sensitivity means that we will analyze the data differently, we will perhaps see them more in their entirety, in a form of completeness. And then we will seek a certain balance between content and form,
A sort of coherence of purpose, of discourse, something which will be more in the order of harmony than of performance. I think it’s important to always keep performance in mind obviously, but not everything can be explained only by numbers! There is also a kind of momentum, of vision,
Of something harmonious. And then what I have noticed a lot among women is a solidarity, a form of fairly spontaneous, very generous mutual aid where we are less, perhaps, to consider each other as competitors. But we listen more and then say ok, how can I
Help you, let’s think together. There is less of this side where we need to mark our territory, etc… I don’t want to make generalizations but there is a form of solidarity all the same, of female sorority that I see much stronger, much
Easier . Women are accessible; we can more easily ask them for things and I talk about women among themselves, not a man in relation (to women)… I will more easily, more spontaneously go and ask another woman for help and then share
Perhaps also my worries, my real challenges, my questions. And then we’re not always trying to brag; we are more in the realm of confidence and I have this thing that happened to me, how can I get there,… And that is something that I observed and which really works in Armagnac between women. So
Often, we call each other, we give each other news, we ask for advice, we have something happen to us, well for example I’ll say anything, the first year when I arrived, I was made scammed by a media group to whom I paid €1000,
To have the opportunity to buy advertising space, thinking that it was a really good deal. Six months later, I have another Armaniacaise who tells me: well, I was contacted by this group and they cited Arton, what do you think? I immediately said be careful, it’s a huge scam, don’t go there!
Okay, we screwed up, I got scammed, it happens! This won’t happen to me again! And above all, I prefer that others know it and that they do not get scammed in turn. This is an example, completely sporadic but it is to answer your question. Among women, there is this kind of mutual aid,
Solidarity and ultimately we move forward quickly. Thanks to all the generations of women before, who allowed us to work today, you see we no longer have to fight for the right to work so that’s it , we have passed this milestone. Now we are in: what can we provide in terms of
Added value? And then finally, to have this extremely complementary side with this more masculine vision of things; and in fact we are much stronger together! And I see that in our trio, my husband and Fabrice.
So Fabrice who has been our oenologist for 20 years but who became an associate 2 years ago; so at the time of the family transmission, and as a tribute to the 20 years of collaboration, my father-in-law Patrick gave shares in the company to Fabrice. Wow! That’s beautiful! We will end on
This beautiful note. I was delighted to speak with you today; Thank you, thank you, thank you for this wonderful sharing! And I can only wish you very much success and thank you very much in any case really! It’s me who really thanks you Berthe for
Welcoming me. Thank you Berthe, have a good day! Thank you so much ! Have a good day too !