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Between the vines and back pain: a Swiss woman builds her own winery <\/p>\n
SWI swissinfo.ch <\/p>\n
A few years ago, Iris Frauchiger left her office job in Bern behind and became a winemaker in the south of France. Today, she produces natural wines and faces the physical, personal and bureaucratic challenges of this new life.\n<\/p>\n
This content was published on <\/p>\n
July 19, 2026 – 10:30\n<\/p>\n
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\n In my work, I focus on topics that are relevant to Swiss citizens abroad \u2013 from political developments in Switzerland and their impact on the diaspora to social, economic, and cultural issues.
\nBefore joining SWI swissinfo.ch, I worked as a local journalist for the Aargauer Zeitung. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Multilingual Communication and, as is typically Swiss, completed an apprenticeship as a commercial employee. <\/p>\n
\n I am an experienced video journalist passionate about making complex topics accessible and engaging through compelling multimedia storytelling. Focused on social and environmental issues, I produce various video formats on a wide range of topics, specialising in impactful explainer videos with motion graphics and stop-motion animation. \n Deutsch <\/p>\n \n de <\/p>\n Zwischen Reben und R\u00fcckenschmerzen: Eine Schweizerin baut ihr Weingut auf <\/p>\n Original\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Zwischen Reben und R\u00fcckenschmerzen: Eine Schweizerin baut ihr Weingut auf \n Fran\u00e7ais <\/p>\n \n fr <\/p>\n De Berne aux vignes du Languedoc: le nouveau d\u00e9part d\u2019Iris Frauchiger dans le sud de la France\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: De Berne aux vignes du Languedoc: le nouveau d\u00e9part d\u2019Iris Frauchiger dans le sud de la France \n Portugu\u00eas <\/p>\n \n pt <\/p>\n Su\u00ed\u00e7a abandona escrit\u00f3rio para produzir vinho na Fran\u00e7a\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Su\u00ed\u00e7a abandona escrit\u00f3rio para produzir vinho na Fran\u00e7a \u201cI can sit but not for too long,\u201d says Iris Frauchiger while standing. She recently returned to Bern for back surgery. You can tell from the way she moves carefully with measured steps that it\u2019s a slipped disc. Her current state is a contrast to her daily routine of physical labour.<\/p>\n Frauchiger begins to talk about the town of Montblanc in the south of France, about vineyards, about the warmth and the place where she has made a fresh start.<\/p>\n Swiss entrepreneurs abroad series <\/p>\n Our series profiles Swiss men and women founding and building businesses abroad. Through their personal stories, we explore why they choose to pursue projects beyond Switzerland\u2019s borders, the working conditions they encounter there, and the challenges and opportunities.<\/p>\n Through their life stories, this series also showcases how the Swiss Abroad community contributes to Switzerland\u2019s economic, cultural, and political influence.<\/p>\n From the office to the vineyard<\/p>\n She decided to become a winemaker on her way home from a wine tasting. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to grow old in an office,\u201d says Frauchiger, who once held the position of administrative director at the Kunsthalle contemporary art venue in Bern. She was in her early 40s and ready to start a new chapter. <\/p>\n She began reading, doing research and undertaking work placements \u2013 in Lavaux and the south of France \u2013 and in this way built up a network. She found friends and like-minded people, and soon a vineyard of her own.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always been my dream to live in France one day,\u201d says Frauchiger. So it was a stroke of luck for her when, three years ago, her current mentor and friend Aymeric Amiel offered her a lease on part of his estate in Montblanc \u2013 \u201cnot the mountain, but the village\u201d, as she clarifies \u2013 in the south of France.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, this opportunity came a bit too soon. Nevertheless, I knew I had to seize it,\u201d says Frauchiger, looking back. She was able to take over some of the equipment, and the vines were healthy \u2013 that gave her the confidence to go ahead. Those around her, especially her teenage daughter, reacted positively. \u201cDo your own thing, Mum,\u201d she\u2019d said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not as if I\u2019m completely cut off from the world, just a bit further away from Bern,\u201d says the 46-year-old. Thanks to modern technology, she adds, it\u2019s now possible to have a coffee or an aperitif together online.<\/p>\n Organisons NousExternal link<\/a> \u2013 let\u2019s get organised \u2013 the name of her winery seems fitting. \u201cIn viticulture, you support one another, help each other out and also share facilities and equipment,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n Why France \u2013 and not Switzerland?<\/p>\n The Bern native is now in her third year as a winemaker \u2013 a fea she managed without any formal qualifications. She would have liked to have done the training. <\/p>\n \u201cBut then I\u2019d have been another three years older and would have learnt something that\u2019s completely different in the south of France compared to Switzerland,\u201d says Frauchiger. So she decided she\u2019ll just learn by doing.<\/p>\n She started her winegrowing adventure in Montblanc with a Swiss colleague who returned to Switzerland at the end of 2025. Today, Frauchiger is already breaking even. That\u2019s not bad for such a short time.<\/p>\n She has fallen in love with natural wines even though she prefers the term \u201cunprocessed\u201d because it is more honest. It was also always clear to her that she didn\u2019t want to start her own business in Switzerland.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like having mountains looming over me,\u201d she says with a laugh. In Montblanc \u2013 a 20-minute drive from the Mediterranean \u2013 everything is flat, which makes wine production much cheaper and physically less demanding.<\/p>\n A profession that leaves its mark<\/p>\n The vineyards in Switzerland are often situated on sun-drenched, steep slopes.<\/p>\n \u201cThat requires specialised \u2013 and therefore expensive \u2013 machinery,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The work is consequently even more physically demanding. For Frauchiger, this is a key consideration, especially now that she\u2019s had back surgery. She takes the operation in her stride. <\/p>\n \u201cNow I\u2019m finally one of them,\u201d she says with a laugh. Many winegrowers she knows have had back operations \u2013 a sign of the physical strain the job takes on the body. Her current physical condition also brings home to her that as soon as she gives up her second home in Bern for good \u2013 and that is her plan for this year \u2013 she will also have to do without Switzerland\u2019s excellent healthcare system. It\u2019s not easy for her to pack up and leave Switzerland for good. \u201cDoubts, fears and uncertainties do creep in,\u201d Frauchiger admits.<\/p>\n Because she\u2019s off work, she\u2019s currently missing out on tasks in the vineyard such as pest control, mowing, pruning the vines \u2013 \u201ca meditative task where you\u2019re 200% focused on the plant,\u201d she says wistfully. She is receiving support from local winegrowers and from friends in Switzerland and Montblanc.<\/p>\n \u2018In the south of France, nobody\u2019s waiting for a Swiss winemaker\u2019<\/p>\n After sitting for a while in a caf\u00e9 on Bern\u2019s L\u00e4nggasse, the cold and Frauchiger\u2019s back start to make themselves felt. She mentions it casually, almost apologetically, saying a bit of exercise would do her good. Slowly she sets off, step by step through her old neighbourhood, whilst she continues to talk about her new life.<\/p>\n She particularly enjoys the variety in her job: from tending the vines and harvesting the grapes to wine production and sales. These days, Frauchiger is bottling 11,000 bottles of wine: white wine, ros\u00e9, sparkling and red wine. She regularly attends wine fairs in the south of France and also sells her wines in Switzerland. To this end, she has set up an import company in External link<\/a>Switzerland. \u201cIn the south of France, nobody\u2019s waiting for a Swiss winemaker,\u201d she admits.<\/p>\n Endless red tape<\/p>\n The administrative work involved in running a business with a presence in both France and Switzerland is time-consuming and challenging, and not just because of the language barrier. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re sent from one counter to the next \u2013 it\u2019s incredibly complicated,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n She receives support in dealing with the bureaucracy from a trustee in Switzerland and an accountant in France. As long as she isn\u2019t living permanently in France, her hands are tied when it comes to her company\u2019s legal structure. As a foreigner \u2013 and one from outside the EU at that \u2013 she has only a limited choice of legal structures. At the moment, Organisons Nous is an agricultural co-operative.<\/p>\n Frauchiger clearly sees her future in France. She appreciates the rhythm of the seasons, working outdoors and the immediate results she can see with her own hands. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough, yes \u2013 but also incredibly fulfilling,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n She has learnt to take risks and embrace new challenges. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, it\u2019s simply a matter of giving it a go.\u201d<\/p>\n Frauchiger stops in front of a Migros supermarket. She still needs to do some shopping, she says. A brief pause in her old daily routine before heading back to the vineyards in the south of France.<\/p>\n Edited by Benjamin von Wyl. Translated from German, sub-edited by Anand Chandrasekhar<\/p>\n Series Swiss entrepreneurs abroad <\/p>\n
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\nDuring my studies in cinema, English literature and journalism, I\u2019ve gained experience in radio, television, and print across Switzerland. After working with the Locarno Film Festival\u2019s image & sound team, I joined SWI swissinfo.ch in 2018 to produce local and international reportages. <\/p>\n
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