Meet the maker – Jeanne Fabre, Millésime Bio President By Lizzy O’Riordan
May 8, 2025
Jeanne Fabre is the president of organic wine fair Millésime Bio and head of wine tourism at her family winery, Famille Fabre, in the south of France.
WHEN DID YOU RETURN TO THE FAMILY WINERY?
I came back to work on my family wine business in 2016 after travelling a lot when I was younger. I think when you’re the new generation it’s important to go and travel somewhere else first. That way you come back with creativity, new ideas and motivation. It also feels like a free choice then, not the burden of inheritance. I now use all the experiences from my travels – communication, human resources, education and tourism – to create wine tourism on the family estate.
HOW LONG HAS FAMILLE FABRE BEEN ORGANIC?
I would say forever because my grandfather couldn’t get the idea of putting herbicides on plants. But we’ve been certified since the 1990s, when the certification existed. My father applied for it then.
WHY IS BEING ORGANIC SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Because of climate change. There are so many challenges facing the new generation and I’m not talking about tomorrow; I’m talking about yesterday. At Famille Fabre we see it. We are based between Carcassonne and Narbonne, in a place where it basically stopped raining three years ago. So that’s very stressful. We’re seeing that even the possibility of wine production is at stake.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN MILLÉSIME BIO?
I’ve always been interested in collective movements. I’m also part of the administration of the Denomination of Origin locally. And with Millésime Bio it was the same process. I was going to the meetings and was hyper-enthusiastic and happy to get involved, then eventually was given the title of president of the wine fair.
HOW DO YOU FIND BEING PRESIDENT?
It’s an honour. One of my main motivations is for people to connect. Of course I want to sell wine, but, on the other side I love the way people meet and share tastes and techniques. It opens the eyes of winemakers who may usually be completely stuck in their vineyards. Not because of a lack of curiosity but because we have an overwhelming profession.