Maurice Colbert, a Bordeaux winemaker
by marzanna_eight_thirty on May 19, 2008
in stories, students
It was a terrible day. I felt very nervous and uncomfortable. I knew I couldn’t wait for another chance and I had to sell my vineyard as soon as possible. When Mr Appleby tasted my wine I thought he appreciated its quality. He admired the taste, aroma and colour and I was sure he enjoyed it as an expert. But when I heard the price he offered I was shocked. The vineyard was a very important part of my life. My family and me had worked there for many years and taken care of every detail of winemaking. Finally our vineyard had a very good reputation in the region of Bordeaux; I was very proud of it. But that didn’t matter much for the young Englishman. It was just another transaction for him. For me it was like selling part of my life, part of myself, part of France – just for a miserable penny.
My name is Maurice Colbert, seventy-five, a vineyard owner in Bordeaux. Sadly, not any more. Yesterday I sold my vineyard to an English supermarket. When I signed the contract with Daniel Appleby I realized how much my life was going to change. It was the second worst moment in my life, after the death of my son a year ago. This time I lost something that was of big value to me, but I don’t mean just money. I lost something more, a piece of myself, a sense of stability. I feel terribly sad, robbed, deprived of the past. My vineyard was my roots, my work, my memories. My strong sense of land ownership collapsed like a sand castle. Without my vineyard I feel like a man from nowhere, deprived of his own place on earth. This place gave me power and energy, it was my whole life. Now I’m a looser, able to return there only in my mind.
Many people don’t know where their real home is, where they can build their history, create their tradition and remember where they came from.