In another operation, Potel purchases grapes from other vineyards planted with vines at least 60 years old and makes wines under the Maison Roche de Bellene label.[Photo provided to China Daily]

'A social attitude'

Running a wine estate obviously means more than merely farming for Potel.

"It's about a social attitude to your workers, the way that you build. What's the point, for example, in growing organic vegetables and then using big trucks to move them a long way?"

Idealism is in his blood, it seems.

"My father was horrified by the development of nuclear power and weapons," Potel says. "Of course, the '60s were all about protesting against something, taking it to the street." The younger Potel says he want to channel his efforts to be FOR something, whether that means buying solar panels or energy-efficient tractors.

Potel's pursuit of soils that are naturally right - instead of "fixing" them through chemistry - is taking winemaking back to its roots.

"That's how the Romans developed viticulture 3,000 years ago," he says. "When they came to Moselle, for example, they found places to grow good grapes. As they traveled in their conquests, they didn't build roads on good growing soil."

Seeing the big picture and looking ahead are watchwords for Potel.

Europe's dairy industry took a hit several decades ago when a herbicide in wide use caused dairy cows to lose an enzyme crucial to cheesemaking. "Scientists couldn't find the cause for 20 years," he says, "until they followed the trail from grass to meat, to milk, to cheese." Potel says he wants to study vineyards the same way.

"If it's not intellectual, only physical, it's boring," says Potel of his life's work. "It's the full picture: farming, winemaking, tasting, drinking."

Making wine, he says, is simple: gather, press, vinify. "Any kid can do it," he says with a grin and a shrug. "The complex thing is to achieve a super grape and put it into the tank."

He's always felt the need to have a vision for the future, he says, because winemaking is a slow process.

"Vines planted in 2007 will take until 2030 to produce a great vintage," he says, "so it's a patient man's game. My father passed that sensibility to me, and I hope to pass that to my own son."