Jean-Baptiste and Fanny Vayson have just finished renovating the Château du Barroux as part of a major tourism undertaking and the launch of a new project in the agri-food sector.
In addition to the restorations, which aim to seduce visitors to the heart of this 12th-century building, a new whisky distillery with einkorn maltings has been built.
The couple chose to revive the heritage of this site in Vaucluse by registering the chateau as a regional project and restoring the premises by relying on the PGI (protected geographical indication) of the local grain.
The realisation of this multi-faceted project was accompanied by VPA with the support of CoVe, the Mont Ventoux Regional natural Park and many other partners.
A restored estate
Joined with its namesake village, the Château du Barroux has been revived by Jean-Baptiste Vayson, the grandson of its former owner. The buyer and his wife invested in the property with the aim of giving it new life and a new sense of nobility, structured around a rich tourism opportunity and an artisanal occupation: the production of whiskey with einkorn wheat.
“We wanted to reconnect the château to the village and develop a collective project with it”
JB Vayson, property owner
Support from VPA
Supported by CoVe, the Mont Ventoux Natural Regional Park and many other partners, the château du Barroux distillery project benefited from the support of VPA. The Agency’s teams recruited their network to aid the renovation of the premises, the installation of equipment and the search for funding.
“VPA has opened several doors to us through its connections with state services, expert agri-food organisations etc. Their assistance was an invaluable time saver! The Agency also provided us with a summary of assistance providers and grants to support our project. Without them, the project would have taken considerably more time, and I remain convinced that we would not have had access to all the financial assistance available to us.” JB Vayson
Haute Provence whiskey
Hitherto unseen!
The château now produces whisky made with Haute Provence einkorn, which is organic and PGI-certified in Vaucluse (Ventoux, Pays de Sault).
“We chose this grain for the quality and traceability of its raw material. As such, we can fully satisfy the requirements of customers in search of healthy products, attracting Vaucluse’s many wine and spirit lovers, with our expertise” JB Vayson explains.
a great idea
Located in the lower rooms of the château, the distillery is supplied by 2 producers and a cooperative where it upcycles incoming materials.
A diverse tourism offering
Partners and networks
Château du Barroux is a partner of the Vaucluse Provence Pass. “We wanted to join this network in order to gain maximum visibility among our tourism target market” JB Vayson
Sensory, cultural, and event-based
The château du Barroux offers an extensive range of self-guided visits to explore its nooks and crannies and its landscaped environment.
From the beginning of July, guided tours of the artisanal distillery will complete this exploration, displaying the entire production line up until the tasting process.
A summer cultural program will also allow the château to attract a clientele of music lovers in addition to families and lovers of spirits.
Corporate tourism/ businesses: a room with a capacity of 30 people is already available.