Vigneron, encaveur, agriculteur, maraîcher, entrepreneur et musicien, les 1000 vies de Raphaël

There is one thing that is common to everyone, it is that we all look for our happiness. This happiness, normally, it is made of balance. And in my case, the balance is clearly made on one side, working with plants, working with nature, and then on this musical side. My name is Raphaël Pieu, I live in Hermence, in the canton of Geneva. I have traveled to more than 40 countries, it is the most beautiful place in the world for me, because it is a setting that is just exceptional. I would not see myself living elsewhere. I did a part of college at Collège Calvin, then at Collège Claparède, and I realized that my legs were not necessarily made to be bent all day, so I thought I might as well take a direction so that it unfolds quite quickly, and that it straightens my back here. I decided to take the path of agriculture and viticulture studies. We are in the family vineyard, and this is my office. In terms of the view and the surface, I would exchange it for nothing in the world. Each year is a wonder, because there is a renaissance. We see these old vineyards, which give back the green, which first have very small bourgeons, which then open up to give different shoots, which we are also selecting, because the action of the bourgeois is really to give a structure to the vineyard, so that each bourgeon, each shoot, can be well distributed. So every time there is magic with the spring, which is just exceptional, and we can only be contemplative in relation to that. This cellar is my kingdom. It is clearly my kingdom. Every time I have a moment, it allows me to follow them, to follow evolution, to see how my kids behave. I call them my kids because I consider them like that. Every year I have the joy of giving birth to about twenty different wines, to accompany that. It is an absolutely exceptional experience, because I work with the living, whether in the garden or in the cellar, it is living that I have in my hands. You have to have the respect that is due to the living, namely that I don't make a wine, I accompany it. It is very different. In Switzerland, we have something wonderful, there are a lot of small producers. I am one of them. I am a small producer. And each time, among these small producers, there is an identity, which I recognize very regularly when I taste the wines, because I taste a lot of other wines, and I am very objective about what I do. And what touches me when I taste wines from colleagues or like that, is that each time I have the impression of finding the character in their wine. And that is a great wealth, because it is not something impersonal. If I discover a restaurant where I eat well, and that the reception is nice like here, it clearly makes me want to offer my wines, because I know it will be a happy marriage, it is obvious. Since we have been working together for many years, it is friendships that bind. That is what interests me in the end. In the commercialization of wines, if there is no human part in this business, it bothers me deeply. If it is purely mercantile, I let go of the business. That's not it for me, the wine. The wine is a link, it creates encounters, it is really an accelerator of life. Oh wow! It is well typed, René. Yes, René, it is perfect. You have to see at the level of the mouth, if it also corresponds to the clientele you have. What do you think? Not bad. The fruit is impressive. I leave you this bottle for the team, so that you can taste it together, when it is a good time for you. You can put it in the fridge, very fresh. We will find it at the right time, don't worry. It's perfect, I like it. Cheers then. Cheers, pleasure. At the level of the commercialization of wines, it is very important for me to do it in a very close radius. Everything is commercialized in Geneva, so to speak. Local consumption is very important to me, but not only because it is my job, but simply because I think it is quite logical that something as instinctive as eating and drinking, should be done with something that is produced, that is accompanied in a proximity. Because it makes us independent. The fact of being taxpayers of others, in the long term, is to become slaves of the outside. So, this little baby. I'm going to taste it. This one is working hard. Really? You can taste it. Oh yes, he knows it all. You hear small bubbles coming out. Small crackling. It's bacteria that are doing the second fermentation. It's getting thinner now, isn't it? Exactly. I'll let you guess what's in it. First, it's red. That's it. Yes, it smells incredible. What do you smell? It's funny because I smell wood and cigars in my mouth. But behind, the second layer of aroma, it's more fruity, rather red fruit. For now, it's very animal. Yes, it's a beautiful beast in there. A little bit like the son of the sun. Or the daughter. It's a friend who invited me to a big birthday party of a certain Raphael in Hermence. And then, when I arrived, I heard the song Angrois, of an Angrois group that is less known than the rest of the world. And I thought, I'm going to listen to this song. Angrois, which is less known. And I realize that I don't have these records. I said to myself, how is that possible? How is it possible that someone in Geneva can have the song of my favorite group and I don't have it? So it really intrigued me. Then I went to see who the DJ was at the party. So it was the first exchange of glances when I arrived in a little window where Raph was mixing. It was something very nice. Really a beautiful meeting. And then it made me want to see her again. And I had a monumental crush. And it made me want to like her. And luckily it worked. So it's a beautiful story that continues. I'm coming up with something a little brighter. You can try, if it suits you. If it suits you, I'll let you try. I think I'm a little fuller. You know, a little more... Duende is waking up. It's going to end in a fado. We're all going to cry. We're going to go get the lamb. We're going to stop the band. We're going to sell our instruments. Which is a bad idea. Indeed, it's a very bad idea. What I like about Raphael is his moustache. I really like boys with a moustache. I find it very sexy. And they're 20, of course. I'm kidding, of course. His moustache, his 20. But above all, he's a good guy. He's a guy... You don't meet Raphaels every day in your life. It's a super active version. And it's true that he never stops for a second. In fact, he doesn't sleep. He never sleeps. He comes out of the vinyls, and then he plays the accordion until, I don't know, he's exhausted. And then he goes back to the vinyls at 7 o'clock. And like that, every day. Raph is someone who is very inspired. He's a big dreamer. When you see him play the accordion, he always has the look that goes elsewhere. And he takes off with his accordion, with his game, and he's elsewhere. It makes him grow, I think. It gives an expansion to his being. I'm very admiring of the guardians of tradition. Because in folk music, it's very important that these traditions are perpetuated. I already find myself in a position of guardian of tradition on earth level. So it allows me, on a musical level, to be a little more versatile. And so, it allows me to do a lot of fusion, a lot of mixing. It's all my musical loves that are found in what I compose and in what I play. There's something wonderful about this farm. We do animal attraction. It's mostly Hugo who is passionate about horses. It's never about going back. It's more about going forward. And you walk. Considering that in the past, there's not everything to give up. There are beautiful things to preserve. And then, finally, given the diversity that we have in the vegetable gardens, in terms of cultures, it's often small quantities. We don't have 100 meters of white cabbage. The work with the horse goes just as fast as with the tractor, on surfaces like this, cultivated in this way. The love for vegetables came from my grandmother. That's for sure. Because my grandmother had a large vegetable garden. Since I was very young, we ate fresh vegetables that tasted good and that were prepared with love, systematically. This is a spice you can't find in a store. It's nice to have these beautiful vegetable barks. Gaia's vegetable gardens were a dream come true because it was one of the first stones I was able to bring to the farm in terms of diversification. And I really wanted to grow vegetables, small fruits, medicinal aromatic plants. And for me, it's a wealth to have this diversity in the rural world. And I think in Switzerland, there's a good awareness of this and people don't want to lose it. I'll give you this bouquet. Come on, Dany, walk. See, I'm good at walking. Not only does it contribute to the beauty of the landscape, but it gives traceability to the diet which is imperative to me. It's the first medicine, food. If you don't eat properly, you shouldn't be surprised if you get sick. Spinach. Spinach under the tunnel. You have Sardinian origins. Yes, Pius is Sardinian. Are you sure? to be able to create bridges… The concept of a bridge stay in my blood. Being able to build a bridge between town and the countryside seems to be a mission that is completely honorable. Two families really play an insignificant role in my love and passion for wines and vineyards. It's obviously my family, as it is thanks to my father that I can work these vineyards today. In this second family I clearly have the Gavilets, because they were kind enough to make me a place to stay at their place, even though I didn't have a cellar. And then I was able to start winemaking thanks to them. So, what do you bring us of good? With Raph, we know each other, we are childhood friends. We are both from a family of farmers, people of the land, which made us get close quite quickly. Afterwards, we shared a lot of common passions and now we have wine. I don't know if it makes you think of something. I would say that with this obvious lychee side, it speaks for itself. So, what do you think of? Knowing your grape varieties, I would think of a Gewürztraminer. Ah, wonderful. We really have exotic fruits too. Amelic side, banana. Totally. In addition to the lychee, a bit of honey like that. Flower honey. I think I still have a crush on 2006. These wines correspond well to the character. High-color wines, there are a lot of aromas, there is sometimes a lot of acidity to my taste, there is sometimes sugar too. There is a creative side, a crazy side that I love. And then there are some exuberant wines. Jump, jump, everybody jump! Jump, jump, come on! Jump, jump, everybody jump! Jump, jump, come on! It was great, this energy, this synergy between us and the public. Because you see that you bring joy, happiness with music to people, and then that's what matters. It's a gift of life to be able to live that. After a concert like this, even if you're tired, you take a moment before going to bed, because you received so much smiles, so much joy, so much dance in front of you. And to be able to transmit that, it's exceptional. I don't think I'm an idealist, but a dreamer, as I hear it, yes. I believe in the fact that I am a dreamer, and I believe that I am a dreamer. A dreamer, as I hear it, yes. I believe in the fact that you realize real dreams, and that it's not in the conceptual order, it's not in the order of the aerial, on the contrary, it's something that has to end on Earth, and well, the feet on Earth. I wish to age as I am. To refine myself. I wish to age like a good wind. To gain in complexity, in maturity, and in balance.