8 March – This year, Gigondas celebrates the appellation’s 50th anniversary. The history of the Gras family is closely entwined with the fortunes of this appellation which saw their own wine-growing operation, the Domaine Santa Duc, come into being and grow. So publishing an art book retracing their family’s journey, from the birth of the estate to passing the baton to the current generation, seemed an obvious thing to do. It also provided an opportunity for this very private family to shine a light on the new generation at the estate and the way father and son, Yves and Benjamin, work together. It took an entire year to document and write this publication, with the same meticulous care and attention to detail that Benjamin and Yves Gras devote to their wines.
A TRUE NOVEL IN 12 CHAPTERS
Life is like a book, a novel. And when that novel runs for several generations, tracing the shared destiny of a family over 150 years of stories and history, it becomes a saga. A saga is measured by the past. To feel its weight, to capture its breath and its density, you have to travel back into that past. That is what this book is all about: retracing the saga of the Gras family through a dozen chapters. And these dozen “moments”, from 1874 to the present day, tell a tale of how these men and women shaped a vineyard, passed on a land, ensured skills would endure and nurtured a love for this place and this countryside at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail.
Each chapter is illustrated by an image showing places, objects and faces. Fragments of life, split seconds in the stories that make up a mosaic as rich and complex as the Gigondas soil into which the vines thrust their roots.
It is also punctuated with beautiful watercolor illustrations paying homage to the local flora and fauna.
AN INVITATION ON A JOURNEY
Just like a saga that runs for decades and includes dozens of characters, this book invites you on a journey. A journey through windswept vines of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah; a journey under the stunning Provence sky where the sun reigns supreme and where shadows stretch across white-hot stones; a journey through the silence of the cellars and the heady aroma of the storehouse where time seems to stand still. A journey into the private life of a family and the secrets of the Gigondas vineyard. A journey into the heart of the Domaine Santa Duc.
