The people of Giscours

How would you describe Giscours?

Derk
I think Giscours is like a small village where people and nature live in harmony. Giscours is changing, and will evolve in the future. Our objective is to focus even more on the synergy of the ecoculture and biodiversity of our “farm”.

What is your favourite place in Giscours?

Dennis
My Favorite place at Giscours is the new park, where we have worked very hard to open the forest, to emphasize the beautiful trees, and to create an atmosphere where nature, culture and wine all come together.

Valerie
I love the nature around Giscours. In the past, we used to walk from Chateau Du Tertre to Chateau Giscours through the vineyards. And partly through the Forest. It’s a very peaceful and beautiful walk.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

I am Alexander van Beek – General Manager of Giscours.
I arrived at Giscours in 1995 at the age of 24 for a few weeks of harvesting, and I never left! Eric Albada Jelgersma made me the director of S.E Château Giscours in 1995.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

The offices at Giscours are in the old stables. I taste regularly, either with the Giscours technical team in the large tasting room, or with other professionals in the Château. Depending on the time of year, I spend time in the winery or the vineyards – it depends on the season. No two days at Giscours are the same. I also travel within France and abroad to represent Giscours at various events.

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

I like the buzz when the harvests are getting started. After a year of working on the vines, it is a key moment in the creation of a new vintage. We are focusing all our efforts on the same goal: creating a fine wine.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

My name is Marc Verpaalen and I have been the Director of Hospitality and Events since 2005.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

The best thing about my job is the fact that my workplace varies depending on what I am doing. Our aim is to welcome people and introduce them to Giscours, which is much more than just a wine estate.
I split my working time between Suzanne Farm, the Château, the shop, the guest rooms, the office and the park.

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

To me, the most significant time is the excitement surrounding events. There are a thousand and one ways of showcasing Giscours and its wines via an event. A generous welcome is of course key, with the vital tools being wine and gastronomy, music, sport and culture, and of course the estate’s natural environment.
We are fortunate to have access to Giscours’s park and forest. I take full advantage of this during my daily walk after lunch. This allows me to combine business with pleasure. You can see that one spot or another needs some care and attention, discover flora or fauna, and at the same time recharge your batteries and gain inspiration. This calm, a total contrast to the activity of events like two opposing but complementary forces, can be found in the vine cycle and in life at Giscours.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

Didier
I am Didier Foret, Technical Director since 2008 (trained in oenology at ISVV, Dijon).
First of all I was Quality Manager at Giscours from 1999 to 2001, then Deputy Operations Director from 2001 to 2007.

Jérôme
My name is Jérôme Poisson and I have been Technical Manager since January 2021.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

Didier
I am very fortunate in that I do not have a set place of work. My work consists of moving through the different areas of the estate, understanding that every single stone is part of the process of making a fine wine.

Jérôme
My office is in the Old Stables with the other teams. However, I gravitate between the vines, cellars and other parts of the estate.

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

Didier
Among the vines, I like watching the sun rise during the heart of ‘growing season’ in June for the serenity and beauty of the colours – and conversely, I like harvest mornings for the hubbub of activity (around 250 people on site).
In the winery, winemaking time of course for the transformation, genesis and culmination of 12 months of effort in the vineyards, but also the decanting of blends for its monastic precision work and calm.

Jérôme
My morning coffee, with views of the vines and one of the historic Giscours plots. The light is magnificent. It is also an opportunity to chat with my office colleagues and the technical team.
I also particularly enjoy tasting sessions in the big hall in the old stables.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

I am Benjamin Laurent and I have been Head Chef at Giscours since 2019.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

As a chef, my place is of course in the kitchen. I am fortunate enough to work within the Château itself every day!

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

From my perspective, the most significant time at the Château is the morning: seeing everyone (Céline and Anne cleaning and creating floral decorations, Lionel our maître d', and all the reception staff) working to bring the place to life, so that it can ‘awaken’ and prepare to welcome guests for lunch or dinner.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

Séverine
My name is Séverine Bouchet and I am a cellar worker. I started at Giscours in 1990, when I was a pre-apprentice groom in the Giscours stables. I wanted that to be my career. Unfortunately, after numerous asthma attacks, we realised that I was allergic to straw, dust and hay. This forced me to change tack, so I began an apprenticeship in winegrowing and winemaking. I spent a whole year in the vineyard and another in the winery. And I never looked back!

Didier
I am Denis Uteau, Giscours Cellar Master since 2008. I arrived here in 2000 as a tractor driver, but it was not for me! I started as a worker in the winery in January 2001.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

We both work in the Giscours winery.

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

Séverine
The moments I love are the harvests and the running off, and the work on the barrels in the winter.

Didier
My favourite seasons are the harvest, the running off – it is long and gruelling, but thrilling to create a new vintage that the vineyard workers have been preparing since the previous winter – and the tastings, moments of calm and concentration when we are lucky enough to be able to taste such wines.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

My name is Ahmed Jaayjaa and I have been working at Giscours as a winemaker since 1978. As well as this role, I also look after the Giscours vegetable garden.
Before, there were allotments here, and I had a little garden. As the years passed, the allotments were abandoned, but I kept mine. In 2019, I suggested working with chef Benjamin to create a vegetable garden that could supply fresh produce to the kitchen.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

My work as a winegrower all takes place among the vines, but the rest of the time you will find me in the vegetable garden! It is behind Suzanne Farm, opposite the Nursery building.

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

I like the buzz when the harvests are getting started. After a year of working on the vines, it is a key moment in the creation of a new vintage. We are focusing all our efforts on the same goal: creating a fine wine.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

My name is Marjolaine Rochoy and I have been Wine Tourism and Events Manager at Giscours for around three years.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

I am most often in the Old Stables, which house our shop where we welcome clients, as well as a large tasting room.

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

I particularly like the end of the day, just before an event starts, when the colours completely change the place’s atmosphere, like the ‘calm before the storm’. Everyone is working hard to ensure that everything goes as well as possible, yet it is a calm moment.

1/ What is your role at Giscours and how long have you been working there?

My name is Lionel Aznar, I joined Giscours in November 2002 as Cellar Master before taking on the role of Head of Winegrowing, which I have held since 2008.

2/ Where at Giscours do you work most often?

Most of my work is in the vineyards.

3/ What moment in Giscours life is the most significant for you?

My favourite periods are pruning, the time when we start shaping the new harvest, and the harvest time itself when the fruit of our labours is safely brought in.