Remembering Patrick Bize

France June 29- July 2, 2023

This is my third trip to France in the last two months. While the others were work related, this was different.

About 3 months ago I got a call from Chisa Bize, the current winemaker of Domaine Simon Bize and the widow of Patrick Bize. She was calling me to ask if I would attend a small ceremony at the domaine on June 29th, calling it a “Memoire de Patrick”.

Patrick died tragically in October 2013 after suffering a heart attack while driving his car. Now ten years later, Chisa - who has been brilliantly running the domaine and making some of the best wines ever - decided it was time to honor the loss of her husband and memorialize his legacy among friends and family.

We met at 6pm in Les Vergelesses vineyard and, after a short speech by Chisa, we witnessed the inauguration of a limestone monument dedicated to Patrick, overlooking the vineyards and the landscape of Burgundy.

The moment allowed all of us to savor the special times he gave all of us. For me, it brought back memories of the first days of La Paulée of which Patrick was an integral part. He was one of the originals, along with Jean-Pierre de Smet, Jean-Marc Roulot, Christophe Roumier, Domnique Lafon, Etienne Grivot and Jacques Seysses.

Back at the winery in Savigny, we enjoyed a feast of Bize wines surrounded by his best friends including Lafon, Roulot, De Smet, Raveneau, Seysses, Boudot, Gouges, Claude de Nicolay, Veronique Drouhin, Fred Mugnier, the Graillot brothers, Patrick and Chisa’s children Nasca and Hugo… Then the mayor of Savigny officiated over a ceremony naming Chisa a Chevalière dans l’Ordre du Merite Agricole. Our congratulations go to Chisa for the extraordinary good work she has been doing.

The emotions were strong. We ate, drank and laughed late into the evening remembering our good friend, husband and father and I cannot imagine a better way to spend 72 hours in France. Here’s to Patrick.