Nothing comes from nowhere.

Apart from those people that I have singled out on the Our Story page. I want to acknowledge the growers, winemakers, consultants and scientists that inspired me and allowed me (and now us) to pepper them with questions and seek their advice, often repeatedly, regarding my obsession with developing a no-compromise system for our place. Nothing we do is original even if it has been adapted to our place. Much of it is drawn from historical practice that has long been associated with quality. This knowledge was initially gifted in one way or another. I could list almost all of the growers that we deal with at Bibendum Wine Co, and many others, but below are the main individuals who directly inspired or helped me.

It started with Olivier Lamy, who first introduced me to a working model for super high density vineyards as well as to Poussard pruning; to José Luis Mateo of Muradella, who helped me see how a certain type of canopy management, shading and bush-vine structures could play a role in finesse and freshness; to Thierry Germain on the role of biodiversity, minimum compaction, arching rather than trimming; to Alain and Max Graillot, who helped me think more practically and also helped me to grasp what might be required in the establishment of a new estate in a place that was not yet associated with greatness; to Jean-François Germain who explained to me that many of explanations offered by Australian consultants had also been heard in France in the 70’s and 80’s; to Jérôme Prévost, who helped me see the wonder in connection to place, the power of careful observation, and also to grasp that beauty was more important than size; to Charles Lachaux (further thoughts about Poussard and the power or risk taking) and to the wonderful Jean Marc Vincent who helped me bridge the gap between hard science and practice and who introduced me to Dominique Massenot.

To Anselme Selosse, who taught me to question everything; to Jean-Marie Guffens who helped me completely rethink how to press our Chardonnay; to Andrew Jefford, who’s writings first helped me consider that great growers could exist anywhere; to Claude Bourguignon, who helped me understand the concept of ‘place’ more deeply; to the great wine scientists Jean-Philippe Roby and Kees Van de Leeuwin who challenged me to think more critically about the stories great growers (and many consultants) tell; to François Dal, the great agronomist who reintroduced the world to Poussard principals of pruning, who wrote the bible on pruning and who took the time to help us take our practice to the next level; to Dominique Massenot, who helped me grasp what had been missing in our system of agronomy; to Sandro Mosele who encouraged me to start from scratch; to Dominik Huber and Eben Sadie, whose search for finesse in hot and dry climates helped inspire our approach to Syrah.

Then to Pierre & Sophie Larmandier, Ben Leroux, Jean-Philippe and Jean-Guillaume Bret, Arnaud Mortet, Thierry Pillot, Dominque Denis, Francis Egly, David Croix, Laurent Ponsot, Ghislaine Barthod, François Labet, François Chidaine, Vincent Dancer, Dave McIntosh and Mike Patterson, all of whom collectively shared (and continue to share) their time with me, explaining their evolving approaches and techniques, all of whom befriended, inspired, chastised and encouraged me.

To authors on practice and science such as Rene Lafon, Francois Dal, James Busby, Dom Denise, Steven Vogel, Sean B Carroll, Ronald Jackson, and Noel Kingsbury who all helped me think more deeply about the biology, morphology, and evolutionary history of the vine as well as revealing the historical vineyard practice associated with the highest quality. And to Luke Lambert, who kindly made our first, experimental batches in 2016 and 2017. To these and many others, I owe a debt of gratitude with respect to Place of Changing Winds, as well as my own development. Nothing comes from nowhere.

Robert Walters
March 2024