Once upon a time, the largest and most reputed of all wine regions in France was not Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Champagne.

It was the region around Paris.

What happened? How, why, and when did the vines disappear? And more important, why are they now back, potentially producing better wines than ever?

This film project is both a discovery and a tribute. A discovery of the newly planted vineyards, the wines already produced, and a tribute to the historic producers who have maintained the link with the region's winegrowing past. Exploring this extraordinary story of rebirth, sharing the motivations, ambitions, and innovations of its protagonists, will help put the Île-de-France back on the wine map of France, a place it once held, unmatched by any other.

Clos Montmartre, Paris

My name is Geoffrey Finch. I am a long-time resident of France, a wine walker, taster, teacher, explorer, and writer.

Having just finished a book about the largely unknown vineyards of Paris (on bookshelves this autumn in English and French), I launched myself headfirst into researching the renaissance taking place in the vineyards of Île-de-France (the region surrounding Paris). The subject proved so rich-the vineyards are stunning and the people running them amazing—that I decided the story will be better told as a documentary film.

I have the perfect partner. Laurent Chalet was the director of photography for the Oscar winning, 'March of the Penguins', who has since won many other awards. Together we’re working on a treatment and a presentation. Which is where you come in.

We have already put an enormous amount of work into developing this project. But we still have a lot to do to bring this story forward and your contributions to this crowdfunding will enable us to do that.

Domaine Bois Brillant 2018, Guérard, Île-de-France

Geoffrey Finch, Patrice Bersac (President of SYVIF), Provins, Île-de-France, 2020

Grape picking, Guerard

History

The wine map of France hasn’t evolved in centuries, and the Paris region doesn't even appear to be a part of it. But a profound change is currently underway, and the world is unaware.

In 2016, the ban on commercial wine production in the region around Paris was lifted, and in 2020 there were five IGPs awarded (Indication géographique protégée - similar to an AOC).

The wine map of France hasn't changed in centuries and the Île-de-France doesn't even appear

Map of the Île-de-France

This is a David and Goliath story about a group of natural winemakers passionate about sustainable agriculture that have fought and lobbied for twenty years for the right to again produce wines in the region. It is also a joyful and surprising story of the rebirth of a wine culture that fell into decline and neglect, and has now, once more, come alive.

Quality control, sorting grapes, Domaine Magalyval, Île-de-France

Harvest 2020, Domaine Magalyval Île-de-France

It is a story of persistence and optimism. A story of decline and rejuvenation, of loss and recovery, of the vicissitudes of fortune in a changing world...
It is also the story of a struggle that has just begun. Introducing new wines into a market that is already well established and extremely competitive, is only one of the challenges facing these adventurous new wine makers.

Ecology

Climate change, organic farming, and why planting vines is a 'win win' for the environment are also part of the story, addressing environmental issues that are of ever greater concern. It might be said that planting a vine is like planting a tree and a vineyard is like planting a forest. Vines, when cultivated organically, which is currently the case for all of the vineyards of the Paris region, are thus contributing to the fight against global warming.

Domaine La Bouche du Roi, Plaine de Versailles, Île-de-France

This is a project that is not just about wine. It is also about people who choose to farm the soil, at times in urban surroundings. It is about climate change, ecology, land conservation, and overcoming obstacles. It is about history and the stories that vines tell, and will also feature a number of the most beautiful and recognisable historic monuments of the Paris region.

Be a part of it, join us, so we can tell you the whole story...

Cheers!

Timeline

Our ambition is to find a producer and production funding in the coming months. Once this is done, we will have two or three months to write a script, and so able to start production in the fall of 2022 or in winter, at the beginning of 2023.

There are three main axes for the funding: research and development, which includes meeting with wine producers, visiting vineyards, travel expenses, reading, taking notes, visiting archives and museums, and taking photos; writing a pitch, a treatment, a presentation, a short video clip, structuring a script and creating social media sites; finding producers, preparing, and making the pitch and presentation.

An Instagram account will provide a window on our progress while also offering more comprehensive reporting on the vineyards and wine-producers. Another aspect of this pre-production work involves exchanges with illustrators, mapmakers, animators and assembling a film crew.

Budget

PRE-PRODUCTION CROWDFUNDING     PARIS: NEW VINES, NEW WINES  
Start of project, pre-production:  February to 30 April, 2022 (crowdfunding)   
Anticipated start and end of production: 30 April, 2022 to 1 December, 2023       

CHARGES
Crew expenses - 50%
Transportation  - 20%
Indiegogo fees - 8%
Social media - 8%
Marketing - 6%
Documentation - 3%

TOTALS 7,750€

Risks and challenges

The first challenge is structuring all the research documentation, contacts and personalities into a marketable film. Finding the right producer is the second and then writing the script is the third. The only other risks we should face are meterological, as most of the film will be shot outdoors. But living in Paris means we're close to our subject and so should have the flexibility of shifting things around last minute. We are confident that this story will inspire a broad range of viewers, from seasoned wine professionals to the simply curious, and ultimately change how the world sees the wine map of France. The work we are doing with this film, will in fact help to put the Paris region back on that map.