Grub up? This winegrower prefers to lend vines and equipment to help a young newcomer set up

By Alexandre Abellan

Jean-Baptiste Duquesne, winegrower at Château Cazebonne, certified organic and biodynamic, is offering to lend 7 hectares of vines (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc) in Graves rather than grubbing them up. He is launching a call for applications to help young winegrowers set up. This initiative aims to give a helping hand by providing land and equipment, thereby reducing the substantial initial costs for a new operator.

Faced with economic difficulties and high fixed costs in vineyard management, Jean-Baptiste Duquesne, owner of Château Cazebonne, revised his business plan and considered grubbing up 7 of his estate's 30 hectares. However, rather than destroying these Graves parcels, he prefers to make them available to young winegrowers keen to set up, with the aim of creating a launch model for organic and biodynamic activity. The idea is to circumvent the major financial hurdles of setting up, such as purchasing vines, equipment, and outfitting a cellar, which can amount to hundreds of thousands of euros. By providing land, a vat room, and essential machinery, Duquesne wants to enable prospective winemakers to focus on grape growing and to convince banks more easily. The precise terms of the loan are yet to be finalised, with Jean-Baptiste Duquesne mentioning a "smart scheme" involving a négoce model where he would buy back the wine produced. He highlights the absurdity of grubbing up quality vines and the need to restructure the Bordeaux vineyards to sustain activity and biodiversity, while seeking a motivated and realistic candidate capable of getting by for two years before releasing their first bottles to market.