Women of Bordeaux Spotlight: Sandrine Garbay

A month ago, I met Julie Brosterman at a meeting of the women of Bordeaux and Napa in the Napa Valley.  She and our American colleagues pointed out how important it is for us to tell our story. During the flight back home to Bordeaux, it struck me what a good idea it was. So, here goes! Exclusively for the website www.WomenWine.com, a series of women’s portraits from the Bordeaux wine world. Owners, œnologists, winemakers, wine merchants…they are all part of Bordeaux’s face and participate actively to represent Bordeaux’s wines all around the world.

The first story I’m pleased  to tell is the story of the winemaker from Château d’Yquem: Sandrine Garbay.

Sandrine in Wonderland

Once upon a time living in a castle named Yquem, was a princess called Sandrine Garbay. This story takes place of course in 2008, but fairy tale images are evoked immediately when talking about the one and only extraordinary Château d’Yquem.

We are located in France, in the south-west of Bordeaux, within the “Sauternes” appellation which produces a famous “liquoreux” or noble botyritsied sweet wine. Sandrine is from the bordelaise region. Her parents, although passionately fond of wine, didn’t work in the wine circle, but her father’s associated company was the one which manufactured the steelcovered tanks installed at this time in famous bordelaise “chateaux” (notably Château Latour).

Nowadays, our princess lives in an office (times have changed!) in the heart of the castle. It is completely decorated with blond wood and white stones. Her den is quite small but so cozy and this is the place where she partly works and she feels at home. In this environment, I also feel quickly at ease.

Sandrine discovered the meaning of the word “œnologist” during an aimless walk with her father. She was 18. She knew immediately that this was her way to go. A few years later, she graduated as an oenologist at Bordeaux’s University and subsequently got her PhD there. Recommended by the oenologist Serge Chauvin, she succeeded in getting her feet in the door at this prestigious chateau. At the beginning, she was in charge of the chateau’s laboratory. Her mission was to study the different types of sulfite combinations in the “liquoreux” wines”. This lasted six months. After that, they offered her a permanent oenologist post on a part-time basis, which then converted into a full-time job. She has therefore been the winemaker at Yquem since 1998 and has overall spent 14 years there. And of course she is there for the long term!!

What is her future vision? To continue what she is doing today. The passion for her work drives her and makes her eyes sparkle.  She doesn’t throw spells, but one could easily talk about magic. Just as importantly, because Sandrine “a bien les pieds sur terre” or “has her feet on the ground,” she manages her cellar with a balanced steady manner and expresses her kind gentle personality through the wine that she makes. She succeeds in turning the grapes into one of the best wines in the world, using with great accuracy her working tools, along with her large knowledge of the vines and winemaking techniques and of course the excellent terroir of Yquem.

As part of her role, she travels often abroad in order to communicate to others about this wine she makes, and she is also day to day in charge of the logistics of transporting Yquem throughout the world. She confesses loving all the different facets of her job.

What about being a woman in a world that for the most part is male dominated here in Bordeaux? She sees it mostly as an advantage (do we doubt it?) and sees it as an asset in all her business relationships. Concerning her work team, she speaks about them with pride and conviction and it seems obvious that her presence is really appreciated. Once again, I see her emotion and her eyes sparkle. Her passion and her enthusiasm are flagrant and very infectious, as I let her words take me somewhere over the rainbow. This is certainly a first class lady.

We know that every good thing comes to an end and soon the conversation is over. It’s time to go. I leave Sandrine telling her that everyone should know her story! Here it is.

Her best wine memory: One day, the manager of a very good restaurant in Caceres (Spain), Latrio called her. This place is well known for having the most beautiful wine cellar in Spain, especially concerning the old vintages, including very old Château d’Yquem bottles. Unfortunately, the neck of an 1805 bottle has been broken during a handling. The good news is that they succeeded in keeping the wine in the bottle and they were asking for help in order to save it. They arrived in a team of four!, The “Mousquetaires” protecting a treasure! The 1805 bottle was saved thanks to the brilliance of the team under the guidance of Yquem.

Her best tasting memory: Château d’Yquem 1811. Delicious aromas of dried fruits, prune and an incredible youth for this almost bicentenary wine.

If she was a wine: she will be a powerful and supple red wine, from the south of France for example, which would reveal her well disguised masculine side!

-By Myriam Ruer