1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 404 The Experimental Field Project: A Series of Twists and Turns

Lucas leaned back in his old pickup truck, smoking.

Ronan followed Juliet into her car and asked eagerly:
"You said many departments are interested, does that mean they are very optimistic about the development path of Provençal wines from affordable to high-end?"

Ronan wanted to get more information about the government's stance.

His application mainly revolved around this part, which he had heard from Juliet.

“You don’t need to worry about what was in your previous application,” Juliet said bluntly. “After I revised it for you, all that content is gone.”

Ronan touched his face, somewhat disappointed.

That's it.
"So what was the focus of your application?" Ronan asked curiously.

The importance of wine in Provence is self-evident. Even without the implementation of the 'uprooting plan', Ronan believed that many farmers and institutions would be conducting grape-related planting experiments. Therefore, the application process for this experimental field project was much more difficult than that for artificially cultivating truffles.

Ronan was very curious about what Juliet had done to persuade those government departments to provide funding.

Juliet left the car door open, one foot tapping casually on the ground outside, as if keeping time; she seemed to be in a very good mood.
“I couldn’t tell you too much before, but now that the experimental field project has been approved and we’re trying to plant new varieties, I can tell you more about the history and situation of grapes in Provence.”

“Okay.” Ronan was very interested in this content.

Juliet said calmly:
“In France, the grape varieties that can be planted in each region are strictly regulated by the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) regulations, and Provence is no exception. Planting grapes outside the designated region without notifying the relevant authorities can result in a fine of up to 6000 francs per hectare.”

Ronan said seriously:

"I got it."

In the 1980s, information isolation was a major factor hindering agricultural development.

The farmers in Lourmaran have never thought about planting new grape varieties because their techniques rely on the experience of their ancestors, and the technology update cycle is as long as 20-30 years.

Similarly, legal literacy was low in the 1980s, especially in the Luberon region, where people didn't understand what was legal or illegal.

However, based on the fact that arbor seedlings could not be found on the market, Ronan guessed that the government might be strictly controlling grape varieties.

“Because of the existence of AOC, in order to maintain the reputation of the wines from the region, the wine regions are very strict about new grape varieties, because that may change the original characteristics.” Juliet suddenly laughed twice with obvious sarcasm. “The most conservative of these is Bordeaux, which strictly prohibits the appearance of any non-traditional varieties and also resists the New World style.”

When telling Ronan about the 'purge plan', Juliet repeatedly showed a subtle attitude towards Bordeaux. Her goal for the purge plan was 'to do better than Bordeaux,' which clearly indicated a lot of friction between the two regions.

In fact, there should be another region involved in this battle – Burgundy.

These three regions, renowned for their wines, are vying for dominance in agriculture and other sectors.

Last summer, Ronan witnessed two university professors in a restaurant in Mena village engaging in a high-level "knowledge war" that started with the tiny snail and extended to wine, cultural heritage, healthcare, GDP, transportation systems, air quality, temperature, residents' quality of life, and even the birth rate of newborns.

Ronan pondered a few sentences carefully:
"understand."

Juliet's smile faded, and she continued with the important matter:

“Provence is much more flexible in its attitude toward new grape varieties. Tiboulon is an experimental new variety, but there are great restrictions on the area planted. Before proving its economic or ecological value, the maximum trial planting area for a single project cannot exceed 20 hectares.”

Lourmaran has only 200 hectares of vineyards in total. The 20-hectare experimental area is sufficient. A larger area should definitely be reserved for traditional grape varieties to supply the original wine varieties of Stella.

Ronan nodded and said:
"That's no problem. I just want to try out high-priced grape varieties. I don't need a lot of land; I mainly want to focus on high-end products."

Juliet wanted to say something more, but suddenly became 'furious':
"Speaking of which, I just remembered that you bought Stellaco? I can't believe I heard such an important thing from someone at the tourism bureau! Ronan, aren't you going too far?"

I always think of you, but you always hide things from me?

Lucas, unaware of what was happening, curiously looked over.

Ronan quickly made a 'shh' gesture and pointed at Lucas, saying:

"Keep your voice down, even my partner doesn't know about this!"

He then quickly explained the whole story to Juliet.

Juliet's emotions came and went quickly. After hearing Ronan's explanation, she crossed her arms and said:

“You mentioned before that you wanted to plant new grapes. I didn’t know it was to try making a new high-end rosé wine. If I had known there was this connection, I would have stopped you, because the AOC explicitly prohibits the use of non-native grapes for winemaking. If other grapes are added, it will automatically be downgraded to table wine.”

"Huh?" Ronan exclaimed in shock.

Developing new varieties is for the purpose of brewing high-end wines. Doesn't this overturn the entire process?

No, you guys shouldn't be so xenophobic.

Lucas looked over again, wondering what these two were talking about, all of them so startled.

Especially that woman.

Weren't you all smiles and incredibly enthusiastic when we first met?
Why are you suddenly wearing such a sour face again?
Juliet said in a complicated tone:
"Now you know how deep and complicated things are here, right? After getting the winery, instead of immediately asking me what I should pay attention to and what to do next, you still had the mood to 'promise the tourism bureau'? If I hadn't taken the initiative to contact you today, you wouldn't have been honest with me, would you?"

From the moment he received the news that Strasbourg was going to change hands, Ronan began to study and learn about the winery.

However, the preparation time for him was still too short. Only three months was enough to overlook many aspects, such as the complex AOC regulations.

All I can say is that you should consult professionals for professional matters!

Ronan had explained this logic to Blanco, but Blanco didn't remind Ronan about the AOC regulations, indicating that even the well-informed Blanco didn't understand it.

Fortunately, it will take some time before Stellar is fully operational, and these few months can still be used for Ronan to learn about and understand the industry.

However, Ronan's conversation with Juliet today served as a wake-up call—he needed to find someone who was very knowledgeable about Provençal wines to help him with the preliminary preparations; relying on himself alone was far from enough, and there would inevitably be oversights.

I need to communicate with Juliet more in the future; she's been crucial in matters concerning grapes and the winery.

The problem is that Juliet works in Avignon, so there are very few opportunities for them to communicate.

Ronan's feeble defense:
"It's because Quincy was stationed in Lourmarin during this period and we were talking about wineries when we casually mentioned it, you should know by now, Lourmarin has received funding support from the tourism bureau."

“No, that’s not the point.” Ronan asked Juliet with a pained expression, “Can I only use it to make high-end wines after I successfully develop a new variety, prove its value, and get it recognized by the local AOC?”

If new grape varieties cannot be legally used to make high-end wines, Ronan will have to abandon this path and focus on increasing the variety of affordable wines.

Juliet glanced at Ronan:
“I will also be stationed in Lourmaran in the future.”

"Huh??" Ronan exclaimed in even greater shock.

Lucas threw away his cigarette and strode toward Juliet's car.

What are these two talking about?
Ronan lifted his buttocks and waved to Lucas:

"It's okay, we're fine."

He then got back into the car, stared wide-eyed at Juliet, and asked:

"And why are you stationed in Lourmaran?" I was just thinking I hadn't had a chance to talk to him much, and here he is?

Juliet sighed:

"I don't know what's so important about Lourmarin that makes the tourism board so concerned, but you know what? The tourism board proactively approached the Ministry of Agriculture, offering to help Lourmarin develop new grape varieties and even applying for a temporary lifting of the AOC restrictions on the new Lourmarin grape varieties. Grapes are the lifeblood of Provence, so the Ministry of Agriculture must be sending people to closely monitor such a big matter."

AOC is a nationally established system, and the agency responsible for its formulation and supervision is called INAO, which is under the local Ministry of Agriculture. In other words, the Ministry of Agriculture has a great deal of say in what grapes can be grown in the Vaucluse province.

Ronan's expression instantly brightened, and he asked with delight:

"You agreed?"

Juliet said helplessly:
"That's the tourism bureau, how could we refuse? But what exactly does Lourmaran have? Why is the tourism bureau involved in grape cultivation?"

Not only in various villages and towns, but other government departments are also actively promoting 'cooperation' with the tourism bureau.

The AOC regulations are meant to protect native grape varieties, but Ronan's application for the project is experimental in nature, including winemaking within the same chain. Similarly, the purpose of experimental vineyard projects is to encourage regions to improve their competitiveness through experimentation, so such behavior should not be constrained by local regulations.

This was precedented when winemaking attempts were made after the cultivation of Malbec grapes in the 70s and Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache hybrids in the 80s, except that the restrictions were temporarily lifted after successful cultivation.

The tourism bureau came to make inquiries before the cultivation even started.

Ronan, suppressing his excitement, asked Juliet with a smile:

Do you remember what happened the first time I went to a party?

Juliet frowned, lost in her memories.

Juliet was a smart woman. Combining the tourism bureau's attitude with Ronan's reminder, she finally discovered one of the tourism bureau's 'important tasks'.

“From this perspective, the development of St. Stephens is indeed very important to the tourism bureau,” Juliet said casually.

Rosé wine has indeed risen to the level of a 'new iconic cultural symbol of Provence,' and deserves our full support.

“Yes!” Ronan also understood the key point. “So the Tourism Bureau will give us the green light for everything related to rosé wine in the future!”

Juliet looked at Ronan with an expression that said, "You're still too young."
"It's not just rosé wine. The tourism bureau attaches such importance to Lourmaran; there's so much you can do."

"For example?" Ronan asked, puzzled.

Juliet shook her head in 'heartache'.

The child is still too naive.

They have no idea how powerful a patron they've found.

Ronan's 'unintentional' mention of the new grape variety to the tourism bureau actually helped Juliet—it allowed her to implement the eradication plan in Lourmarin and also provided an important new grape variety for cultivation.

This is why Juliet was so enthusiastic when she met Ronan today; she knew that with the tourism bureau's support, this project would definitely succeed.

In fact, the Ministry of Agriculture has been constantly seeking "cooperation" with the tourism bureau. Juliet has written countless proposals, but for various reasons, they are often unsatisfactory.

But Juliet has now found a breakthrough – Lourmaran.

The two departments could potentially collaborate on more than just grapes.
Juliet dutifully offered Ronan advice:
"The tourism bureau will support anything you link to tourism. Take the artificial cultivation of truffles, for example. Who says a village can only have one specialty? Provence has few tourism options in winter, so truffles are a great project. We can organize a truffle-themed market in Lourmarin, and since Lourmarin has many artists, we can have them hold a truffle art festival. Most importantly, we can find an experimental forest in Lourmarin, not too big, just a few acres will do, and organize tourists to visit the artificial cultivation of truffles project."

It was just a simple question, but Juliet talked on and on for several minutes, as if she had an endless stream of ideas in her head.

At the end, Ronan gave Juliet a thumbs-up in admiration.

It has to be your government that knows how to cheat the government, no, how to apply for a budget!
You've used this trick quite a few times, haven't you?!
However, after careful consideration, Ronan felt that Juliet's words made a lot of sense.

Cultivating truffles is a long experimental process, unlike growing grapes. We decided today that we can start next month.

During the long experiment, it is necessary to bring in as many sponsors as possible, not only the Ministry of Agriculture, but also the Tourism Bureau and the Forestry Bureau.
"When are you coming to Lourmaran?" Ronan asked Juliet eagerly.

Astrid had long ago taught Ronan that this guy, who had no roots in Provence, needed to firmly bind all those with common interests together, like Juliet in front of him.

He knew, of course, that Juliet had her own motives for helping him.

But as long as this goal doesn't conflict with what Ronan wants to do, and they can help each other, there's no problem.

“That depends on when you implement the uprooting plan and when you start planting new varieties,” Juliet replied with a smile.

"Will this experimental field project also arrange for me to meet with a professional organization?" Ronan asked seriously.

Juliet countered with a question:

"You already know a lot about agriculture, do you still need professional assistance?"

Ronan knows how to cultivate truffles, but doesn't know how to grow grapes?
Professor Fernand affirmed Ronan's professionalism.
Ronan frankly said:

"I want to hear what those organizations recommend about grape varieties. You know there are so many to choose from."

Juliet thought for a few seconds:
"If you want to decide what to plant based on experimental data, they can't help you; it depends on your actual needs."

As Ronan was considering whether to change the selection criteria, Juliet changed the subject and continued:

"However, I can tell you frankly that before the tourism bureau got involved, your experimental field project had already attracted the attention of several departments."

Ronan's expression became quite interesting:

"What exactly was your reason for writing that application for me?"

Juliet has never answered this question for so long.

Juliet's face once again displayed that expression of both contempt and disdain:

“The competition between Bordeaux and Provence has never stopped. Whenever the competition between the two regions is involved, a lot of interested departments will be mobilized. In my application, I wrote that I wanted to explore the possibility of planting Bordeaux’s main grape varieties in Provence. I guess there are many people like me who are looking forward to seeing the expressions on the faces of Bordeaux people when they hear that their ‘high-end’ grape varieties have been successfully cultivated in Provence.”

She then explained to Ronan:

"Writing it this way is just to increase the chances of your application being successful. You don't need to focus your energy on this aspect. Just make some simple attempts and focus on planting the varieties you want to plant."

Ronan smacked his lips:

"To be honest, I have many choices, but among the varieties I'm interested in, there is one that is a main grape variety from Bordeaux."

Juliet's eyes widened immediately:
"what?"

Ronan tilted his head:
"It's Merlot. I don't know if you've heard this news, but a top-tier collectible wine has been made from Merlot blends on the right bank of Bordeaux. A single bottle sells for over 3000 francs because Pomerol only has 800 hectares of Merlot vineyards."

Juliet slammed her hand on the steering wheel:
“Grow this! We’ll use it to make rosé wine that costs more than 3000 francs!”

(End of this chapter)