The town of Haillicourt, in the Pas-de-Calais (Hauts-de-France), has since 2011 been the scene of an unprecedented conversion project: winegrowing on a slag heap in the heart of mining country. In 2009, two winegrowers from the Charente, Olivier Pucek, originally from the mining area, and André Jammet, originally from the Aude, took on a crazy bet: producing good wine at the top of a slag heap, in a region with an unfavorable climate. The heat of the slag heap, still burning, the very steep slopes, the constant wind and the southern exposure allowed them to meet this challenge.
With the help of Johann Cordonnier, a vineyard worker in Haillicourt, they planted 3,000 Chardonnay vines. This was the birth of a wine, the “Charbonnay”. “Experimental at first, the project far exceeded expectations,” recalls Gérard Foucault, mayor of Haillicourt. “It quickly became an issue in the preservation of the UNESCO-listed mining heritage of the Hauts-de-France.”
Produced between March and December 2021, this photographic work with the winegrowers and residents of the region documents the winegrowing activity linked to the slag heap.
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21 images
France, Vimmy, 2018-08-30. View of the twin slag heaps of Loos-en-Gohelle. The Mining Basin has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012 as a "cultural landscape". This territory…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-07-22. A miner wearing a helmet holds a lighted oil lamp at the entrance to a gallery. Jean-Claude Duval, 80 years old and a miner since the age of 13, is surprised by the…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-05-04. View of a slag heap where vines are planted. Photograph by Guy LEROY / Collectif DR. France, Haillicourt, 2021-05-04. Vue sur un terril ou est plantee de la vigne…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-05-04. Johann Cordonnier, on the slope of a slag heap, is in charge of the maintenance of the vineyard. He has just finished clearing the brush. Photograph by Guy LEROY /…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-05-18. A vine worker is working on a grape plant. The pruning is the operation which consists in clearing the vine stocks of branches in order to favour the maturation of…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-06-29. A winegrower prunes the vines on the slope of a slag heap. "My grandfather was a miner. I am proud to work on a slag heap and to continue his activity, in a…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. Grape pickers climbing a vineyard slag heap. About thirty volunteers take part in the harvesting of the grapes. Many are regulars who come back every year…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. A man cutting bunches of grapes. "Every year, by taking part in the grape harvest, I pay tribute to the miners who sacrificed their lives for the mine", he says…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. A man carrying a box of grapes during the harvest. Photograph by Guy LEROY / Collectif DR. France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. Un homme porte une caisse de raisin…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. View of a woman's hands cutting a bunch of grapes. Photograph by Guy LEROY / Collectif DR. France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. Vue sur les mains d une femme qui coupe…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. A young man carrying a crate of grapes on his back. Photograph by Guy LEROY / Collectif DR. France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. Un jeune descends une caisse de raisin…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. Portrait of the Mayor of Haillicourt, Gérard Foucault. "It is an honour to take up history and to revalue the hard work of the miners. Moreover, some people cry when…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. The grapes are transported to the presbytery of the town of Haillicourt where the destemming and pressing take place. Photograph by Guy LEROY / Collectif DR. France…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. A man pours grapes into a destemming machine. The grape stalks are removed from the grapes just after harvesting and before pressing. Photograph by Guy LEROY /…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-24. Many volunteers participate in the manual pressing of grapes. Photograph by Guy LEROY / Collectif DR. France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-24. De nombreux volontaires…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-24. A winegrower puts the grape juice in a vat in order to start the fermentation process by adding yeast. This is the birth of the terril wine called "Charbonnay", a…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. A winegrower tastes the grape juice. Photograph by Guy LEROY / Collectif DR. France, Haillicourt, 2021-10-23. Un vigneron goute le jus de raisin. Photographie de Guy…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-12-18. Olivier Pucek, winemaker, bottles the wine aged in this cellar. "The 2020 harvest will allow us to obtain about 600 bottles," says the winegrower. Photograph by Guy…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-12-18. Close-up of wine bottling, bottles, hands, machine. Olivier Pucek, helps to bottle last year's wine. "The 2020 harvest will allow us to obtain about 600 bottles,"…
France, Haillicourt, 2021-12-18. Close-up on bottles of "Charbonnay", a wine made from the slag heap. In 2009, two winegrowers from Charente, Olivier Pucek, originally from the mining country, and…