Owning a vineyard is not an option for most people, but owning part of one is. Joe Breen writes
Dreams are cheap. Realising them is where the cost comes in. If you love wine you might have dreamed of owning a vineyard in France - or anywhere, for that matter. It's a financial impossibility for most of us, but there are ways of getting a foothold. One of them is through www.wineonline.ie, an Irish website that is inviting its customers to join its ambitious plan to buy a leading vineyard in Languedoc - the first time, to my knowledge, that this has happened in Ireland.
The website describes the property, Villa Symposia, as an 18-hectare vineyard with working winery and maturation cellars in the heart of the Côteaux du Languedoc. The current owner is Eric Prissette, a former footballer who acquired the Château Rol Valentin estate in 1994 and whose wines have been rated among the top 10 St Émilion grand crus in Robert Parker's Wine Spectator.
As Gerry Fitzsimons, sales and marketing director of Wineonline.ie, explains on the website: "Prissette will retain a 15 per cent interest in Villa Symposia and we will work together to produce wines suitable for both the Irish and UK markets. The wines produced at Villa Symposia are absolutely top class, premium-priced wines, and demonstrate fully the true potential of this emerging area of France. Eric's winemaker at Rol Valentin, Stéphane Derenoncourt, oversees the wine production at Villa Symposia, as he does at many of the top Bordeaux châteaux, such as Château Pavie Macquin, Château La Bienfaisance ("Sanctus"), Clos de l'Oratoire, Château Bellevue, Château Le Pin Beausoleil, Alonso del Yerro "Maria" and his very own property, Domaine de l'A, in Castillon."
Having tasted three of the four wines produced at Villa Symposia - the high-end L'Origine is particularly impressive - there is little doubt that this is a quality vineyard. Derenoncourt is widely considered among the best wine consultants in France, and his results are outstanding. He is very much an outsider. Andrew Jefford, in his well-regarded The New France, lauds him as "utterly different from Bordeaux's other key figures: he dislikes the limelight; he distrusts wealth; his philosophy may involve technical innovation, but it is led by intuition, observation and a deep respect for nature." Jefford quotes Derenoncourt: "I only want to do something to the wine if it needs it. To work in the most natural way possible, that is my winemaking philosophy."
But this is a business proposition, and it involves real money - the minimum investment is €2,500, and the aim is to raise €800,000 - so it is important that the strategy adds up. "The key to the investment strategy is to build on what is already in place and to develop overseas markets most notably in Ireland," writes Fitzsimons.
"Four hectares of new vines are also planted, which will be producing fruit within three years, and this will be a key factor in further developing new wines for the Irish market. Another aspect of the investment, which is of particular interest, is capital appreciation. Land under vine within the Languedoc region still sells at around €30,000 to €35,000 per hectare (2.25 acres). Compare this to the grand-cru sites of Saint Emilion, where the same land sells in excess of €1,000,000 per hectare, and you will understand why so many of the Bordelaise vignerons are investing in the Languedoc. I'm not suggesting it will reach these levels, but with careful development and a positive marketing strategy it should only go the right way."
All investments are gambles of varying degree, so even one as romantic as Villa Symposia must be viewed with a cold eye. But compared with impersonal stocks and bonds, this is an interesting proposition. jbreen@irish-times.ie