The word of Pierre | Michel Campy

14 interviews with Pierre Overnoy, winemaker in Pupillin (Jura)

"I am against the cult of personality. Every time there has been a cult of personality, in any country, it has led to disasters. So why this kind of fame, this myth about me? I don't know, because there is no reason," says Pierre Overnoy in this book. So, why publish a book of interviews with Pierre, even if it sacrifices the cult of personality?

Because Pierre Overnoy is an extraordinary winemaker. Around 1964, he sees the arrival of chemical herbicides and intuitively senses their long-term harmful role on soils and natural yeasts. Aware of the great potential of his terroirs, he seeks gentle methods to extract the best from his grapes, constantly searching for pure and lively wines that give the most authentic expression of his terroirs. In 1984, he vinifies his first wine without sulfur...
Such an experience had to be told. Pierre's friends decided on it, and the interviews conducted during the winter of 2008-2009 provided the material for this book.

In fourteen interviews, Pierre reveals himself, tells his story, gets emotional or amused: family, childhood and youth; friends, Jacques Néauport, Alain Chapel, Henri Bouvret, and others named savagnin, chardonnay, ploussard, trousseau; vine cultivation, wine aging... Sometimes, one wonders if one should talk about a paternal feeling and an educational work, as the relationship between Pierre and his land, his vine, and his wines is strong, loving, passionate.

This is a book for everyone; a testimony of an existence, it will allow some to discover some aspects of daily life during the Occupation, the painful experience of the Algerian War (interview 1), old stories passed down from generation to generation: Loulou, la Zine, Mautué (p. 161) quickly become heroes of a bygone era that we see reborn behind the words; perhaps Chatard is still looking for his mug with the handle on the left (p. 65), who knows?...

Others will be fascinated by the battle of bacteria against malic acid (p. 104), the fight against lactases, the transformation of ethanol into acetaldehyde (p. 110). When the described process becomes very technical or too complex, an image, "the frog will not attack the ox" (p. 103), clarifies the point: Pierre then becomes an outstanding educator...

Here is a fascinating work that will meet the multiple expectations of wine lovers, those who appreciate the content of a fine bottle for the culture it represents, the art of living it reveals, the terroir it exhales.

The black and white photos accompany the spoken words with their play of shadow and light. In this regard, we cannot fail to appreciate the splendid portrait of Pierre on page 10. Others in color explain the territory of Pupillin, the work in the vineyard, the flowering period, etc.

The intoxication of words is to be consumed without moderation, and as François Morel, editor-in-chief of the magazine le Rouge & le Blanc, writes in his foreword: "Let us know how to hear Pierre's words."

Interviews prepared and conducted by Michel CAMPY with the participation of Roger GIBEY, Bernard AMIENS, Michel CONVERSET, and Emmanuel HOUILLON.