Moods Wine people TEXT Sylvie AugereauILLUSTRATION Debora Szpilman In the country: that’s where it’s at. Not the fake one; the real one. The one that is respected and studied and cultivated by the people who live and work there. Winegrowers have long understood that nature is running out of time. They prefer to describe themselves as artisans rather than farmers. Because as Francis Bacon said, “We cannot command Nature except by obeying her.”* Because nature is wreaking ever greater havoc on us as a result of our excesses. Because it can sweep away everything it has provided, in a moment of hail or frost. All of this gives winegrowers a sense of humility, and probably leaves them wiser for their losses. They know that the long-lived vine they cultivate will survive them. When they plant it, they know that the next generation will harvest its best fruit, fruit that is more intense and fully gorged with minerals absorbed through the roots. Winegrowers stand apart in the agricultural world in that they transform the fruit they harvest, sometimes working it for years on end to turn it into great wine. That is why there are so many visionaries among them, some dreaming of biodynamics, some tilling with a horse, but always a step farther on than where you expect them to be. *inNovum Organum. L’ABUS D’ALCOOL EST DANGEREUX POUR LA SANTÉ. À CONSOMMER AVEC MODÉRATION. DRINK IN MODERATION. ALCOHOL ABUSE IS HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH. 199