In Saint-Nazaire-des-Gardies, the Persévérance vintage as a standard of sharing

La cuvée Persévérance regroupe famille et amis. Une institution ! MIDI LIBRE – Alissandre Allemand

La cuvée Persévérance regroupe famille et amis. Une institution ! MIDI LIBRE – Alissandre Allemand

La cuvée Persévérance regroupe famille et amis. Une institution ! MIDI LIBRE – Alissandre Allemand

La cuvée Persévérance regroupe famille et amis. Une institution ! MIDI LIBRE – Alissandre Allemand

The Persévérance vintage, born in the Durfort cellar from the fierce desire of three cooperators to go organic, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. An inspiring human adventure.

Let it be said! In Saint-Nazaire-des-Gardies and in the villages leading to Durfort, the word perseverance will never rhyme with despair. To convince yourself, just come and sniff the fresh air on the Fauguières side where, between two bursts of laughter and good puns, secateurs in hand, young and old harvest under the wise advice of Patrick Viala, the master of the place. President of Bienvenue à la ferme, farmer involved in particular in organic farming and a poet in his spare time, the farmer is a key figure in the department.

Ten years ago, after having been made aware a few years earlier (in 2009) by one of his stepdaughters on the importance of agriculture that defends the environment and living things, Patrick Viala put forward the project of developing a vintage of organic excellence at the Durfort cooperative cellar, in which the man has always been a cooperative member. Alongside his colleagues and friends Michel Souchon and Pierre Mazauric, Persévérance was born, a blend of Grenache and Syrah, harvested by hand. An organic cuvée in AOP Duché d’Uzès of which approximately 2,800 bottles are sold each year.

A cuvée that lives up to its name

A baptismal name for an elite vintage that owes nothing to chance. “I always felt that by launching into organic farming, perseverance would be much more than a word”. Ten years later, the word has even become a mantra and even a song: “A vintage from the south of France that we call perseverance, a yes yes yes vintage, a no no no vintage, a vintage that we call perseverance!”

A hymn that we sing at the top of our lungs and with all our hearts at aperitif time, the harvest brought in to the cooperative cellar and a glass in hand. Because Persévérance is above all a story of transmission and sharing. In the vineyard, leaning over the Syrah and Grenache vines that make up the vintage, secateurs in hand, on this Saturday, September 21 and between two showers (but always with a smile), the family, friends and neighbors of Patrick Viala are working hard. Out of the question to miss this day that has become a true tradition. A day of work certainly, but a day of pleasure to be together. To find oneself and to return to simple and essential things.

“Folklore is made to end up in museums”

So it is grandchildren, children, cousins, aunts and uncles, parents, grandparents who happily pile the crates containing the precious bunches into the trailer, before Carline, the draft mare, goes, surrounded by the whole group, to the Durfort cellar to bring in the grapes. A journey that is made on foot, often trotting to motivate the mare on the climbs, and always laughing. A bath of good humor that gives all its meaning to this walk. Here, no folklore. For the winegrower, “folklore is made to end up in museums. And here, we are resolutely turned towards the future. We are only passengers on this earth. And it is to leave it to my grandchildren in a decent state that I campaign for organic farming”.

At La Fauguières, there are no period outfits or lost tools. No antique carts either. And if the horse is part of the festival, it is above all for the symbol (and also because the owner of the place is completely passionate about equines). “Horses have always helped men in the fields. I think it is important to honor them and to close the season with them. It would be impossible for the cooperators of the Durfort cellar to harvest without machines. The cellar is too far from the vines. It was also when the machines appeared that the cellar was created. 60 years ago this year. Which explains why it is one of the newest in the area”.

Once the 4.3 km have been covered, their cheeks reddened by the effort, the happy team is warmly welcomed to the cellar. The crates are emptied into the press and the grapes are weighed. First the Grenaches: 520 kg. Then the Syrahs for 640 kg. The berries will be pressed, the juices placed in vats, the blends meticulously made, then there will be a two-year wait to taste the wine. An organic vintage with the flavors of hope.

Organic in peril

Because despite the troubles that have engulfed the organic market in recent years, the hardest thing for those who truly believe in it “is to meet motivated and willing young people, reduced to abandoning everything to return to conventional farming when they have just finished their conversion, it is revolting”, analyzes Patrick Viala. “They want it, they fought for it, but the current market is so difficult that they prefer to stop everything rather than lose everything. With Perseverance, we also want to tell them that they are not alone and that we must continue to work for what we defend”.

Perseverance, 13 euros per bottle. Available at the Durfort cellar and at the Mas des Agriculteurs in Nîmes. I subscribe to read the rest