Today, I'd like to introduce you to Fanny Vayson, a 1.58 m tall petite . Fanny trained as an engineer and decided to switch to the wine business at the age of 25. Today, as mother of three, she manages the family wine estate Château Saint-Louis. Here's another inspiring portrait for you to discover.

Organic is the only possible sustainable future for the wine world of tomorrow. We can't produce great wines with chemistry! Wine is a living product that needs to be accompanied with gentleness and care.

Can you start by telling us about your background?

I have a scientific baccalaureate. I did a scientific preparatory course in VersailThe at the Lycée Privé Saint Geneviève (aka "Ginette" for my friends! ), then I entered the ESTP. It's an engineering school specializing in public works in Paris. I graduated in 2012, and got married the same year. My husband's first job was based in Toulouse, so we moved together. I got my first job as a business engineer, then a second. After two and a half years, I'd learned a lot. But something was missing and I was getting bored of the world... That's when I decided to retrain.

Petite, I first wanted to be a writer, then a journalist, and then as a teenager I wanted to become an astrophysicist... In fact, eclecticism is what characterizes me, because I've always been very interested in a wide variety of subjects, without too often being able to make a definitive choice (just like a restaurant menu...!). So I followed my father's advice, who always told me that even if I liked literature, it was better to go into science, because afterwards you could always go into literature, but the opposite was impossible. Up until the "classe prépa", I always loved school and enjoyed being the "^1st in class". But when I got to preparatory school, I found myself surrounded by people who were much brighter than I was. Although it was a very difficult time for me, it was an incredible human experience that completely EDITd many facets of my personality.

So you decided to go into the wine business. Why this field? How did your passion for oenology come about?

My father set up Domaine Saint-Louis in 1991. I'd been immersed in the world of wine, but when I was younger, it wasn't an area that interested me. It's a very difficult sector, dependent on climatic conditions, and it didn't appeal to me! My parents never pushed my brother and me to work in wine. On the contrary, they always told us that we should do what we love. But in the end, my passion for wine grew out of my relationship as a couple. In our spare time, we'd visit châteaux and go wine-tasting. We both became passionate about the estate at the same time. We also quickly realized that both of us working as salaried engineers was not going to allow our family to fully blossom. We were both lacking an essential dose of passion to drive us forward a little more each day.

In 2014, I decided to leave my job. I began working on the estate for a few months to immerse myself in the sector and start developing commercial activities (selling the estate's wines and developing our wine tourism-related activities).

In September of the same year, I officially started the DNO (Diplôme National d'œnologue). For two years, I became an "apprentice oenologist", alternating university courses in Toulouse with further training on my parents' family wine estate. I chose this "apprentice" status so that I could learn as much as possible in the field, and so that my father could pass on his knowledge to me. As a result, I was able to grasp every facet of the winegrower's complex profession, which demands absolute versatility: knowledge of agriculture, mechanics, plant biology, chemistry, microbiology, electricity, marketing, purchasing, saThe, human resources, etc. In short, a total eclecticism. In short, total eclecticism!

What does the training for the Diplôme National d'œnologue involve?

It takes two years to obtain a diploma in oenology. I did it in Toulouse at ENSAT, which works in partnership with Paul Sabatié University. To be accepted, you need at least a bachelor's degree in the biological, chemical and biochemical agronomic sciences. The course combines lectures, practical work and company visits.

In^1st year, courses and practical work focus on viticulture and knowledge of grapes and wine (analysis and control, production and processing, oenology, microbiology, vinification).

In the^2nd year, courses focus on management, accounting, oenological engineering, and the study of products and by-products from vineyards and wineries.

The work-study schedule is roughly 3 weeks in class and 4 weeks in the company.

Could you introduce us to the Domaine Saint-Louis? What wines do you produce?

In 2005, Château Saint Louis was the^1st Fronton AOC estate to convert to organic farming. I'm convinced of the relevance of this commitment. Organic is the only possible sustainable future for the wine world of tomorrow. We can't produce great wines with chemistry! Wine is a living product that needs to be gently and carefully nurtured from the vineyard onwards, and nurtured throughout its ageing process, respecting its intrinsic harmony so that it can ultimately reveal itself brilliantly when tasted.

We produce white, rosé and red wines under the Fronton AOC as well as the Comté Tolosan PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). I won't go into too many technical details, but in the Fronton appellation, we must use at least 50% of the Negrette grape variety in our blends.

The price range is quite wide (from 6€/bottle to 38€/bottle for our top-of-the-range cuvée). It's essential for us to be able to satisfy both the recurring local consumer who wants to treat himself every day with a wine at a very good value for money, and also satisfy the need of someone who wants to make a gift with a great wine for ageing.

After graduating, you became co-manager of the estate with your father. I imagine you have a lot of responsibilities as co-manager, but what are your main tasks?

As long as my father was around (until August 2018, when he sadly passed away), I concentrated mainly on the wine-making side and developing new customers.

With each passing vintage, I have to learn to know my terroir better and tame it more and more, in order to sublimate its fruits. Seeking to make the best wines is an inexhaustible source of work, questioning and problems that I find intellectually most interesting. It requires a great deal of commitment from the mind, but also from the heart, because a winemaker always puts a little of himself into his wine, and a great wine can only be born of the love of the person who makes it. It's this very soul that I'd like to share with you in the conviviality of a shared glass.

The part concerning pure oenology is my favorite technical mission, but I have to admit that it's not the one that takes up the most of my time.

In addition to my essential role in making the estate's wines, my main tasks (and the ones that take up the most of my time!) are similar to those of any business manager: planning the various tasks of the employees, managing customer relations, monitoring incoming and outgoing orders to know when we need to make new cuvées again and in what quantities, etc. I'm also in charge of the wine-making process.

The wine world is a difficult and masculine environment. Whether you're a man or a woman, it's hard to be legitimate. And as a woman, it's even harder! Do you have any anecdotes to share with us?

It's a male domain that's petite becoming more feminine, with a growing number of women winemakers. It's a far cry from the 2000s, when "masculine", woody wines were all the rage. Today's market trend is towards wines described as "feminine", light and fruity!

ExampThe of anecdotes: The seasonal manager: "Come and see them, etc.". But you've got to EDIT, you've got to wear boots". If I'd been a guy, he'd never have allowed himself to make a remark!

Or "Hello, I'm shaking your hand. But that's not a winemaker's hand!"

What's your reaction to these remarks?

A witty, ironic retort is always the best response. My problem is that I often find the best retort after the unfortunate event! By dint of experience, I hope I'll end up with the right remark every time to leave my interlocutor stunned.

What are your strengths as a woman in this business?

My greatest strengths are my inexhaustible energy (except after 9pm when I put my three daughters to bed...!) and my iron will, which has always enabled me to bounce back and move forward despite the difficulties I've had to face in recent years (successive crop losses, death of my father, etc.).

I don't think these qualities are the exclusive preserve of the female gender, but even so, they seem to be more widespread among us than among our male counterparts. I often notice that girls are more involved in their work and do a better job. So, we're a majority of girls in the field, and proud of it!

I know you're currently working on another big project! Would you be willing to tell us more about it?

Together with my husband, I'm developing the first organic whisky distillery in Provence, at Château du Barroux, near Mont Ventoux in the Vaucluse. We plan to set up there at the end of this year, and welcome our first visitors next summer. Our production site will be open to visitors, and will include every stage in the transformation of grain into whisky.

The common thread running through our project is the preservation of both our material heritage (the historic Château) and our living heritage (the production of whisky from locally grown organic cereals). It's mainly my husband who's working on the project at the moment, and in particular he's overseeing the various works to fit out the distillery in the Château's cellars. As for me, I'm busy organizing the remote management of the estate from next year onwards.

You're a mother of three, and you do so much between running the estate and your distillery project. What are your secrets to managing it all?

I don't have any big secrets except a lot of organization and energy! I'm no Superwoman either, and of course it would be a lie to say that I always manage everything perfectly. There are times, for example, at harvest time when I have to devote more time to vinification, or during school vacations when I have to free up more time for the girls. It's a constant juggling act between several jobs, and you can quickly find yourself intellectually and psychologically overwhelmed. I really force myself to have moments of "letting go" where I go and do sport or an artistic activity to clear my head, do something for myself, and so preserve my balance.

Finally, a few questions to get to know you better.

What's your favorite thing to do when you're not working?

Cooking. I love to spend time (nights sometimes... ) preparing delicious meals for my family.

Your last read?

Elisabeth Revoil's "Vivre" tells the story of a tragedy involving two mountaineers and the exploits of an extraordinarily resourceful woman.

The outfit you feel most comfortable in?

Slim jeans and tee shirt!

Your favorite Petite and So What piece?

Rosa floral shirt.

The three things that never leave your handbag?

My cell phone, my Avène lip balm and a corkscrew!

Thanks a lot Fanny!

October 16, 2020 - Julie Luong Si

Tagged: portrait petite

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