On April 11th I inaugurated my new winery designed byA&A Heitz Architecture .
Here is the transcript of my speech to relive this powerful moment.

“To capture attention, you have to talk about politics, sex… and architecture. So let's do it.”

The statistics are clear: human attention spans do not exceed 5 minutes, especially when the glasses are full and we are hungry. To capture yours, I did some research, it's very simple: we have to talk about politics and sex . So I will focus my speech on politics , sex and for originality, architecture .

Policy

Our politicians! Ah! They love to take advantage of the tense international climate to monopolize the media and try to boost their popularity. They are gradually swapping their diplomatic role for a media one.

Today, I am doing the opposite: I am speaking out, but I DIDN'T DO THIS VINEYARD PROJECT.
You will recognize there a form of humility... à la Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

“I owe this project above all to my wife.”

Astrid, the architect behind this winery, attends the speech of her husband, Armand Heitz.
A project designed by two people, anchored in their shared vision.

In 2013, I vinified my first vintage. I quickly realized that the family home in Chassagne-Montrachet would not be able to accommodate the 30 hectares of vines we cultivate today. Meursault is a central village in the history of the Lochardet family; it lies at the heart of the plots that my grandfather had managed to preserve.

Jean-Claude Monnier offered me this piece of land. A power pole in the middle, a few travelers, in short... no one wanted it.

I ask him: "Do we build around the pole or the travelers?"
He replied: "The post. We can imagine a winery being organized around it. I'm sick of traveling people in Meursault."

That's when I started thinking I was Trump: we have to negotiate . But not for 90 days, eh? I thank Jean-Claude for his diplomacy. Thanks to him, we are here today.

Sex (well… almost)

In 2016, I met Astrid. And you'd never guess, she's an architect! But I assure you, it was her charm and blue eyes that won me over.

Plus, it comes from Gevrey-Chambertin (yes, in Côte de Nuits... sacrilege). Well, I'm not the only Chassagne winemaker to have sought genetic and cultural diversity there.

On our third date, I decided to take action! Hmmmm. I told him about my plan to get drunk (and yes, I shouldn't have put the cart before the lie).

She corrects me: "Oenologist, agricultural engineer, yes. But architect, Armand, you're not yet."

Even before the speeches, it is Ravel who opens the festivities.

Astrid has a strong hand, so she began my architectural education: Tadao Ando, ​​Le Corbusier, Peter Zumthor, but especially Rudy Ricciotti .
The Beautiful, the Bad and the Ugly
The exile of beauty
Concrete in custody
Architecture is a combat sport

I enjoy these readings.

In 2018, we get married.
In 2019, theA&A Heitz Architecture agency was founded .
And yes: never any associations before marriage.

Nine months later, the winery is in the making. But it is finally the Château de Mimande that falls upon us like a bolt of lightning .

Investing in wine tourism in the midst of COVID-19 was a bold move.

The white winery

In 2022, annual meeting with banking partners.

Jean-Loïc Lagrange said to me: "This winery is a good idea, but perhaps for next year, Mr. Heitz?"

No.

Spending money is much easier than bringing it in. But a word is a word. We'll secure the loan in 2023 and start the work right away.

Three principles for a just architecture

After this political and sexual section, I'm going to be gentle and a little technical. Please pay attention, Dimitri, our chef, has been ordered not to serve the beef bourguignon until the end of my speech.

Here are three axes that led to this building.

• 1. Common sense

I often say that common sense is the best of labels. My grandfather passed this common sense on to me. “I remember trading cow land for vineyard land,” he told me. I took it literally.

These childhood memories allowed us to define the specifications for this winery: If my grandfather had built a winery, how would he have done it?

Armand's aunt and his mother, proud and moved, discover the new winery.

• 2. Aesthetics

Astrid and I believe that the most beautiful form is one that strikes a balance between nature and human hand. Aesthetics must therefore be defined by the choice of materials and respect for the rule of proportion.

Proportion, simplicity, readability. This is the golden ratio that allowed us to define the proportions of the building.

A sustainable winery, built with love and conviction.

• 3. Materials
  

– Concrete 
If you're not an expert on the brutalist movement, there's a film starring Adrien Brody in theaters. I don't recommend it: 3 hours and 30 minutes is longer than my speech, and the script is really not great. Rudy Ricciotti's Concrete in Police Custody or Jacques Tati's film Playtime are inspirations I recommend more. What could be more local and sustainable than concrete, which is made of aggregate, limestone, and water?

– The wood
We opted for spruce for the frame and Jura Douglas fir for the joinery. I had to leave some merins to our neighbors at the Damy cooperage or to our neighbors in Mimande, the Chassin family. In addition to the framework, we insulated the building with 20 cm of wood wool on the walls and 30 cm on the roof. The idea was: to insulate rather than regulate.

“This is how we imagined and designed a terroir winery without a filter.”

Because in Burgundy we don't drink without a Burgundian ban

Thanks

I obviously save the most important for last: the thanks.

• Astrid , of course
• Julien Jousse , who follows the projects of the A&A Heitz Architecture agency
• My family , who trusted me from my first vintage
• The Armand Heitz estate team
• All the local craftsmen and businesses who made this project possible:

Rougeot for earthworks
SNEP for structural work
Lepagnier for wooden frames and interior woodwork
Blondeau for the metal frame
Leases for cladding and roofing
G1 Closures for exterior aluminum joinery
Vaginet for facade renovation
Laurent Labille for plastering and painting
SIXM for HVAC
Sochaleg for electricity
ADS for the freight elevator
Stonhard for floor resin
Landscape 2000 for fences
CM Rossignol for locksmithing

I would also like to thank all the partners in the field that I have not mentioned but who work alongside us on a daily basis.

Armand