332: Start a Bordeaux Winery and Make The Midlife Move with Sally Evans

What’s one of the most challenging aspects of being a new winemaker in Bordeaux, especially if you’re a middle-aged foreigner who is making wine for the first time? How did the Bordeaux sub-region of Fronsac lose its fame after being a region favoured by French royalty? What if the only thing holding you back from a fresh start, a new project or a major life change is you?

In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Sally Evans, author of the new memoir, Make The Midlife Move: A Practical Guide to Flourish after Fifty.

You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks

 

Giveaway

Three of you are going to win a copy of her terrific new memoir, Make The Midlife Move: A Practical Guide to Flourish after Fifty. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [e-mail] and let me know that you’ve posted a review of the podcast. I’ll choose three people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!

 

Highlights

Which pivotal moment sparked Sally’s interest in learning more about wine?

What was Sally’s career before wine?

Why did she decide to transition into a wine career at 52?

How is Make The Midlife Move different from other books of the genre?

What was the most surprising insight Sally discovered while writing her book?

What was the most challenging part of writing Make The Midlife Move?

Where is Bordeaux, and specifically Fronsac, geographically located?

Why has Fronsac often been overlooked in favour of more well-known regions?

What made Sally choose Fronsac when deciding to start winemaking?

What’s the story behind Sally’s winery’s name, Château George 7?

How did Sally overcome the issue of magnum bottles with no capsules to fit?

What was Sally’s most humbling moment in her winemaking career?

Which unexpected challenges does Sally wish someone had warned her about in the early days?

Why did Sally decide to expand into making white wine?

What can you do to manage feelings of impostor syndrome?

 

Key Takeaways

What’s one of the most challenging aspects of being a new winemaker in Bordeaux, especially if you’re a middle-aged foreigner who is making wine for the first time?

Sally notes that she didn’t realize just how much bureaucracy there was in France with the customs system and appellation rules around winemaking. There's a lot of rules which are good, but, there were so many rules. She also didn't really think through how long it takes to make a wine. So it's quite a long time that you're financing everything before you can actually start earning money.

How did the Bordeaux sub-region of Fronsac lose its fame after being a region favoured by French royalty?

Fronsac had the first wines that were produced and went up to the Royal Court of Versailles, but as time went by, areas like Saint-Émilion overtook Fronsac in terms of notoriety. When the climate was a little bit cooler as well, some of the wines tended to be a little bit more rustic, maybe not quite as ripe or as elegant as they could be.

 

About Sally Evans

After an international corporate career based in Paris and the South of France, Sally Evans completely changed her life in her fifties. She created an independent winery in Bordeaux, completely on her own with no prior experience or knowledge of wine. She threw herself into wine studies, bought a parcel of mature vines with some dilapidated buildings and created a brand-new wine chateau. She now has a boutique winery, Château George 7, in Fronsac on the right bank of Bordeaux. Her wines win hi