The profession of winegrower or winemaker is not reserved exclusively for the children of winegrowers who have followed a winegrowing course. In fact, there is no legal requirement for you to have trained in winegrowing in order to become a winegrower, although obtaining a diploma is highly recommended, particularly from an administrative and financial point of view.
Whether you are buying (or renting) vines or a winegrowing property, ma-propriete.fr can help you understand the issues involved and the various forms of support available to you.
Winegrowers and winemakers are both passionate professions practised by farmers working in the wine industry.
Winegrowers plant, cultivate and maintain vines with the aim of producing the best grapes possible. Their work also includes harvesting, i.e. picking the grapes without getting involved in the wine-making process. He will often sell the grapes directly to neighbouring cooperatives, merchants or winegrowers, etc. They cultivate the vines and work outdoors, which requires them to be in good physical condition, as the work is carried out in all weathers.
The winemaker is exclusively interested in the vinification phase, i.e. the development and ageing of the wine, and therefore requires skills in oenology.
While the viticulturist devotes himself solely to tending the vines, the winemaker is involved in the entire wine production process, from the vine to the sale of the bottles. It therefore encompasses the job of winegrower, but also includes vinification in the cellar (the work of the winemaker), marketing, management, etc.
While the difference is clear in dictionaries, as are the skills and qualities required for each function, the distinction in everyday vocabulary is often non-existent among winegrowers and consumers alike.
As with all agricultural professions, there are a number of initial training courses in the wine industry: CAP, BPA (Brevet Professionnel Agricole), Bac Pro, BTSA (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur en Agriculture), agricultural or agronomic engineer, etc. There is a very wide range of courses on offer at the 800 French educational establishments offering agricultural training in France (public and private lycées, maisons familiales rurales, higher education establishments, etc.). In the Revue du Vin de France, you'll find a comprehensive summary of the different courses on offer.
These courses alternate theoretical and technical lessons with practical work experience on wine estates or in companies working in the wine industry (oenologists, wine merchants, etc.). It should be noted that it is possible to follow this initial training under an apprenticeship contract.
These same establishments very often offer training courses for adults as part of a retraining programme.
As mentioned above, although training in viticulture is not compulsory to become a winegrower or winemaker, it is strongly recommended, particularly if it will enable you to acquire the "Capacité Professionnelle Agricole" (Professional Agricultural Capacity).
Professional competence is acquired through possession of a level IV agricultural diploma or 5 years' professional experience.
The Brevet Professionnel de Responsable d'Exploitation Agricole (vocational diploma for farm managers), with an option in viticulture, will enable you to obtain this professional qualification if you wish to retrain. This is a specific course for adults, lasting less than a year and comprising theoretical courses and work placements in winegrowing businesses.
There are various ways in which you can help finance your BPREA: the Personal Training Account (CPF), Pole Emploi, training organisations such as VIVEA, the Professional Transition Project (ex Congé Individuel de Formation CIF), etc.
The purchase of vines, on which you will practise your new profession as a winegrower, will be subject to 2 administrative procedures for which holding a winegrowing diploma can make all the difference.
To develop vines or a wine-growing estate (over a certain surface area, which varies depending on the department), you must first obtain administrative authorisation to farm under the Control of Structures (Contrôle des Structures). To do this, you need to submit a prior authorisation application form to the Direction Départementale des Territoires et de la Mer (DDTM) in your département.
Your application must be advertised to inform all potential applicants to farm the plots concerned.
If a competing applicant comes forward, the DDTM will grant authorisation to farm on the basis of a number of regionally-defined criteria.
If there are 2 candidates for setting up on the same plots, the authorisation will probably be granted to the candidate with a winegrowing diploma.
Any sale of rural property is subject to the SAFER's right of pre-emption. This body, which is responsible for controlling the purchase of agricultural land in order to encourage people to set up in farming and to prevent speculation on prices, examines all proposed sales and may decide to pre-empt the sale of a parcel of land and then sell it on to a candidate it considers to be a priority. The SAFER can also intervene on an amicable basis (outside the pre-emption procedure), but always with the same objective in mind.
If the SAFER is approached by a competing buyer, it will inevitably take the wine-growing background of the various candidates as a criterion for authorising the purchase or pre-empting the initial buyer.
Administrative procedures for leasing vineyards
Although the SAFER does not intervene in sales leases, the regulations of the Contrôle des Structures apply regardless of whether the vines are purchased or leased.
There is one case where obtaining a diploma is compulsory: the repossession of rented property.
Let's take an example:
Your parents or grandparents own land or vines that are leased to a winegrower. The lease is approaching the end of its 9-year term after a 1st renewal. You want to prevent the lease from being renewed so that you can take over the vines and run them yourself. You will need to give your tenant notice to quit (18 years before the end of the term, by writ served by a bailiff). You will also need to prove that you have professional agricultural qualifications, either through agricultural training or 5 years' professional experience.
Wine-growing projects are often capital-intensive because the various items to be financed add up to a lot: vines, wine storehouses, vineyard equipment, winemaking equipment, wine stock, etc.
You therefore need to pay close attention to your financing plan if you are to make a success of your project.
Start-up aid for young farmers
The aim of start-up aid is to provide financial support to young farmers (including winegrowers) for their first start-up. To qualify for this aid, you need to be able to prove your professional competence by holding a level IV agricultural diploma (or 5 years' professional experience) and by completing a personalised professionalisation plan (PPP).
A helping hand at the start is always worthwhile! Anyone wishing to set up in winegrowing and who has obtained the appropriate qualifications can apply for start-up grants, support in putting the project together or tax relief.
However, the beneficiary must commit to a number of conditions for a minimum of 4 years, such as :
The first step in obtaining finance is often to approach a bank. While the bank will carefully examine your financing plan, it will also pay just as much attention to your profile, and will therefore try to get to know you: Your career path and training are the first things they look at.
You need to prove your ability to monitor work in the vineyards, manage a team of employees, canvass customers, sell your products, handle administrative management, etc.
Training that is directly linked to your project will be a guarantee of your skills and knowledge of the wine market when it comes to convincing a bank to grant you a loan.
There are also other financing solutions, which we describe in our blog. Crowdfunding can be used to finance small items of equipment in the form of donations, or larger investments in the form of loans or even an equity stake.
There are also investment funds that can buy vineyards and then lease them back to you. Examples include Terra Hominis and Groupements Fonciers Viticoles, such as France Valley in Champagne.
We have written a free white paper setting out all the steps you need to take to set up a successful wine estate. You can download it free of charge.
You can also contact wine transaction professionals using our free matchmaking service. After analysing your project, we will pass it on to our professional advertisers who are able to assist you.
We advertise winegrowing properties for sale throughout France. You can select them by vineyard, location (town, department, region), budget or by surface area of the vines.
You can also create an alert to be automatically informed by email of new vineyard ads for sale.
You need solid skills to succeed in your wine business.
The right training is proof of a minimum level of skills that will be useful for putting together your financing plan and may be essential in certain cases.
Our advice: Even if it's not compulsory, we can only advise you to take a training course if you have the time and the necessary motivation. It will make your job easier and give you skills that will be useful on a day-to-day basis.
