TERRIDE
THE WINEMAKER’S MISSION
Les Z'elles Gaillacoises
Alix David, Chateau Terride
In 2016, Alix David founded Les Z'elles Gaillacoises, a group of around 30 female winemakers. Each year, the ladies select a pigeonnier in urgent need of restoration and auction some of their wine to raise money for the repair works. From her home at the Château de Terride, Alix tells us why she decided to celebrate the ancestral link between Gaillac’s vineyards and its pigeonniers.
When I was a child, I detested ruins and abandoned buildings, the crumbling châteaux, the stone huts in the vineyards where the workers and their animals used to shelter at midday, and, of course, the tumbledown pigeonniers. I always noticed one particular pigeonnier on the way to Lisle-sur-Tarn. It stood forlorn in the middle of a field, covered in ivy, its roof collapsing. I remember watching the farmer plough around it with his tractor – it had always been there, so he left it, but no one cared for it.
As I grew up, I became fascinated by the idea of restoring old buildings like these. I asked myself, what differentiates our territory from other pretty wine-producing areas such as Chianti or the Ruwer valley? Part of the answer is our pigeonniers. They are unique, and the manure they produced fertilised our vines for centuries. A few years ago, these idle fantasies turned into something more concrete, thanks to three events I attended.
The first was in Limoux, where the main cooperative organises a wine auction to raise money for the restoration of church bell towers. Soon after that, I visited the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy which has been using wine sales to fund charitable works since the 15th century.
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place at the Gaillac wine fair. I had my stand next to Château de Lastours, and in a quiet moment, I asked Louis how he was getting on with maintaining his home – he has even more roof than I do at Château de Terride. Oh, the roof’s ok, he said, but I’ve got a problem with my pigeonnier. I’ve just received a quote for some urgent repairs – they’re going to cost me €80,000. As much as that? I replied, and that’s when I understood why there are so many abandoned pigeonniers.
I had already been thinking about creating an association of female winemakers – not to help each other technically, but more for moral support. Now, I realised, pigeonniers might give us another purpose, and help promote our wines too. I gathered together some of my friends, told them about Limoux and Beaune, and said why don’t we organise an event where we can auction some of our wine to help Louis save his pigeonnier? That’s how it all started. Each of our participating members donates 12 bottles for auction, and we also make a special blend from several of our estates that is only sold on the day of the auction.
The first year, we raised €6,000, and since then, we raise around €12,000 a year. In 2022, we will be restoring our sixth pigeonnier.
Any pigeonnier owner within the Gaillac appellation can send us a proposal along with a builder’s quote. As we have become better-known, we receive more and more applications, and we make our selection according to several criteria. A pigeonnier must be in urgent need of repair. The owner must be able to provide facilities nearby to host a weekend of celebrations including a lunch and the wine auction. And each year we want to hold our event in a new part of the appellation’s territory because part of the attraction for the public is the chance to discover different pigeonniers through a guided walk with Michel Lucien.
Why do we only have female members? Well, I’m not saying we don’t drink – we are winemakers after all – but when there’s work to do, we ladies just get on with it. If men are involved it’s more complicated and more time is spent on debate. The other advantage is that it’s been great for communications. From the outset, journalists have been intrigued, firstly to discover that there were so many female winemakers and secondly that our objective is to preserve our architectural heritage. In fact, one of our members did some research into the list of heritage associations held by UNESCO, and we are the only all-female group in France devoted to saving our patrimoine.
Alix David
Chateau Terride
2022