The region is also home to many new wine and vineyard ventures and enterprises.
Numerous British entrepreneurs such as Jeremy Broyd and Robin Ruffler have successfully mixed a great quality of life, a love of wine and a profitable business venture in the vineyards of the Dordogne.
Château de Fayolle Jeremy Broyd moved to France in 1994 when his parents bought a small vineyard in Saussignac (Dordogne). He had just finished university and the idea was to help his parents set themselves up in France and for him to learn about the wine business, before returning to the UK to get a “proper” job! 12 years later, he is still there although now the vineyard manager for Château de Fayolle (Saussignac) which was purchased in 1997 by Ringwood Brewery, the real ale brewer from Hampshire.
Did you integrate easily into the French community? Jeremy Broyd: I’ve been warmly received by the locals and most of my French friends are fellow “viticulteurs”. It is a business in which you have to be 100% passionate about what you are doing and I have never experienced any animosity from other “viticulteurs”, only generous help and advice.
What do you like most about your job? Jeremy Broyd: People visiting the vineyard to purchase wine are amazed at the amount of hard work that goes into producing a single bottle of wine. What really appeals to me is that we are personally involved in every step of the production cycle; pruning, tractor work, canopy management, harvesting, vinification, bottling and the eventual selling of the wine. This hands-on approach is a huge appeal to customers, preferring to buy wine with an identity rather than buying wine from a local co-operative.
What would be your recommendations to foreign entrepreneurs who are looking at setting up in France? Jeremy Broyd: I know the idea of owning your own vineyard conjures up lots of romantic images and it is very enjoyable but I’d be lying to say that problems are never encountered; lack of knowing where to turn for advice, French bureaucracy and the impression when talking to ‘les fonctionnaires’ that you are simply going round in circles, the expensive social charges that employers pay, 2 hour lunch breaks and the 35 hour week are some of the areas that foreigners have difficulty in understanding but then isn’t this life-style one of the main attractions for coming to live / work in France? The recent renovation of the Château de Fayolle into a luxury 5 en-suite bedroom “gîte” took 3 years instead of the original 2, but that’s the way it is over here – things happen at their own pace and don’t expect the French to change their working habits for you!
