Eddy van Heel (photo above, center) had his affairs in order. As the founder of Prescan, a company for preventive health care, he was one of the most successful entrepreneurs in his native region of Twente. And then Covid happened. Eddy got sick. So sick that he decided to sell his company and turn his life around. Together with his uncle, he already owned a number of apartments and a chateau in Cahors. When the neighbor wanted to stop with the vineyard, the decision was quickly made: Eddy became a wine grower. A major turnaround, which also involved a lot of practical matters. What do you encounter when you suddenly take over a vineyard? What is easy, and what obstacles do you encounter? I asked Eddy.
Eddy’s vineyard is located in the beautiful Prayssac, in the Cahors wine region, in the South-West of France. Above all, Eddy says that he experiences the tranquility of the area as a huge plus. He does not live there permanently (yet). “I live in the Netherlands, also because I have a family with growing children. They are now between 4 and 19 years old. Moreover, I still have to take it easy myself. Fortunately, my brother-in-law is there and he is he is learning quickly. The team is great, I must say.”
Piles of papers
The vineyard has a long history. Four generations made wine here. Until 1860, the vineyard was part of a larger estate. Eddy and his uncle already owned the chateau, the coach houses and the bakery, in which apartments had been built. With the purchase of the vineyard, the estate has been restored to its original state. Although that did not go without a struggle. “I didn’t know there was so much involved in purchasing a vineyard,” Eddy says. They spent a year working on it. “It literally involves piles of official documents that have to be correct from front to back. They have to go to different authorities each time: the tax authorities, excise duties, the municipality. We probably saw the notary the most of all. And before that, you also have to deal with the official authorities, such as the wine region, who determine whether you are allowed to buy this vineyard at all. What do you want to do with it? Do you know what you’re doing? It’s not that I was shocked – it has to be done – but it certainly wasn’t the most fun part. And everything in legal French, because almost no one in our area speaks English. Not even government officials. Fortunately, Safer, the authority responsible for agriculture, assigned us an interpreter who assists us with all the processes.”
Anticipate and innovate
The vineyard is now running at full speed. The daily work is done by a small team of French people and from September 2022, brother-in-law Patrick is an apprentice. As far as Eddy is concerned, the lessons of entrepreneurship are particularly applicable to a winegrower. “I am used to anticipating what happens, that’s entrepreneurship. So we are working on irrigation. Not to compensate for the drought, because that’s not allowed. But to be able to combat the late frost in the spring, by creating a thin layer of ice over the plant in the first growth. A proven method to save the vine. We are also going to let the vines grow in the Italian (or actually ancient Roman) way. The vines are tied up higher, with more space for the wind and therefore less chance of mildew, for example. This is possible because the Malbec is a late grape. We also use a robot in the vineyard that hoes everything electrically. That saves labor.”
The fruits of innovation
Eddy has invested heavily in innovation from the start. “I ask myself in every scenario: what can I do to prevent this? Maybe that is a typical Dutch mentality. So what can I do in heavy rain, heat or frost? Or to increase the quality?” The French government generously encourages this innovative entrepreneurship. “For example, we received a 40% subsidy for our new cooling tanks.” In the meantime, the innovations are literally starting to bear fruit. “I am quite proud that we cold-press horizontally with an expensive machine. Just like a large winery from Bordeaux. It is quite an investment, but you soon notice that the quality increases enormously. Also because we cool all the tanks. We were confirmed by a recent wine tasting in Vienna. We sent in four bottles and won four prizes: one gold, two silver and one bronze.”
The power of experience and knowledge
However, Eddy has noticed that a good winegrower also needs knowledge, experience and intuition. “I am very happy that we were able to seek advice from the previous owner after the takeover. Last year, the grape harvest looked downright bad. We had a strange spring and a big drought in the summer. The grapes were small and the harvest was already estimated at less than 80%. We actually needed some more rain, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards. Many winegrowers decided to start harvesting. Former owner Gérard told us: Just wait a few more days, rain is coming. We waited and lo and behold: within five days it rained. And we have a fantastic harvest.” Unfortunately, not every year is so lucky. “Usually, winegrowers count on one bad year in five wine years. But that doesn’t apply in Cahors: the past few years it was too dry, too wet, there was mildew and this year we had late frost, which meant that we only had a twenty percent yield. You can safely say that there were only two normal years in the past five years. Fortunately, we still have enough stock. But we are now looking at innovations to prevent this kind of frost damage as much as possible in the future. For example, by spraying or heating the vineyard with infrared strings.”
Teamwork
How does Eddy look back on the first years of his adventure? “In France, it takes some getting used to the enormous road through bureaucracy. That is a huge difference compared to the Netherlands. But you quickly forget that when you taste your own new wine for the first time, together with the team that worked on it. Because if wine growing is one thing, it is teamwork. And that sometimes goes far. In France, farmers help each other a lot, for example by using a machine against mildew. I am more than satisfied with the result: imagine, winning 4 prizes at a wine competition right away. Fantastic!”
More about Cahors
You wouldn’t think so, but Cahors is the oldest wine region in France. The history of wine growing began here in the first century, around the city of Divona Cadurcorum, now the city of Cahors. The Romans then planted the first vineyards. The wine was drunk by Roman emperors and was shipped to Rome via Bordeaux on a wooden raft over the river Lot. The wine region now has around 4,000 hectares of vineyards, where mainly Malbec is grown. This grape is also known as the Auxerrois and is also called the Cot in Cahors itself.
Want to know more?
Curious about Eddy’s vineyard? You are welcome to come and taste, but also to stay overnight. Read all about it on the website of Chateau Camp Del Saltre. His wines are for sale in the Netherlands via Heisterkamp Dranken in Ootmarsum.