Jean-Louis VÉZIEN

Who is Jean-Louis VÉZIEN ?

Originally from the Champagne region of France, Jean-Louis VÉZIEN trained as an agricultural engineer, but his passion for the vineyards of Alsace is undeniable! Having started his career as Head of the Colmar Centre of the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine, in charge of quality policy for the Alsace and Lorraine Appellations d’Origine, he was able to discover the assets of the Alsace vineyards, which are due both to the diversity of the soils – which explains the diversity of the grape varieties grown – and to the particularities of the semi-continental climate protected by the Vosges barrier – which enables the wines to combine two qualities that are usually mutually exclusive: maturity and aromatic intensity!

His career took him back to Alsace 20 years ago as Director of the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace – an opportunity for him to move from know-how to know-how…

Today, in his role as herald of the Confrérie Saint-Etienne, and future Grand Master (2019), he is a tireless advocate for the great wines of Alsace.

His vision

Just as Monsieur JOURDAIN was writing prose without knowing it, the Alsace vineyards were developing wine tourism before the word even existed. Inaugurated in 1953, the Alsace Wine Route is the fruit of a multitude of personal and collective initiatives, which have enabled it to establish itself as the world’s leading wine route in terms of visitor numbers (more than 6 million visitors a year).

The region boasts a number of considerable assets: transitional landscapes between the plains and the mountains; a fabulous built heritage in our towns and villages, a direct legacy of the wine trade on the Rhine during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; numerous wine cellars; museums; a first-rate hotel and catering industry; wine festivals; fun and sporting events, and so on.

But it can’t rest on its laurels, because other wine-growing regions are currently investing heavily to attract new customers.

That’s why the Géovino project makes so much sense!

In ‘Prisons and Paradise’, published in 1932, Colette wrote this brilliant text: ‘Vines and wine are great mysteries. Alone in the plant kingdom, the vine makes intelligible to us what the true flavour of the earth is. What a faithful translation! It feels and expresses the secrets of the soil through its grapes. The flint, through it, lets us know that it is alive, fusible, nourishing. Ungrateful chalk cries golden tears as wine’.

With Géovino and its 11 local trails, the mystery is cleared up! Wine-lovers are invited to learn more about the rich geology of our terroirs, and the influence they have on our great wines, giving them that extra soul that makes them the artisans of our gastronomic culture!