The unlikely gang of four
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The Domaine Gris des Bauries was created in 2004 by Patrick, a renowned mason, in love with vines and Gina, the baker's daughter.
The baker had given up his bread oven for a vineyard and, upon retirement, passed on his old grenaches to Patrick, his son-in-law. Fortunately, Patrick’s father, a winegrower, had instilled in him a great respect for the vines. In fact, he always dreamt of growing wine himself. He truly believes that it’s in his genes.
Claire-Lise and Charles were the mason’s clients, and his friends. He had built them a vast cellar to accommodate their passion for great wines that need to be carefully aged. They both have jobs in a far-away city, she as a psychologist, he as an academic economist, but they too dreamt of making their own wine. Back then, all four daydreamers used to talk a lot about wine. Quite often they would gather to check whether the bottles were aging correctly in the great new cellar. You never know!
Their dreams came true when they decided to team up to make wine together. Really good wine, the best that can be made in this corner of Drôme Provençale. Grenache can not grow any further up north; they all believed that to be a promise of delicate and crisp flavors. And they dream on. Every year, they say, they will achieve finer wines and extract more subtle flavors from their carefully grown grapes.
Patrick does the brunt of the field work. He takes care of the vines as if they were his children. Claire-Lise and Charles carry on with their full-time jobs, and took on this new one. Gina keeps the books, oversees everything, packs the bottles and shares her enthusiasm with the customers.
The old grenaches - 60 or 80 years old, possibly more - mostly grow on top of a beautiful hill. The newly acquired syrahs are younger. Patrick prune them severely because, he says, they are as unruly as his puppies. Speaking of which, Patrick is also an avid hunter but, nowadays, he spends much more time at the winery than in the woods. Even the birds are happy!
