Can you relate to the following? 

You have a pretty spectacular career in a highly respectable field that gets you onto stages across the world, but somehow you’re torn and keep wanting to go back to your roots and jump-start your multi-generational family business. A pull between pursuing a very high-level career and going back to simpler -but not easier - things, connecting to our family roots, and passing along our heritage.  

But how do you make that transition happen? The business is set deep in the French countryside and you're based in another country. You’d be working alongside your mother and brother, out of your grandma’s basement... making wine! 

Our guest today is Baptiste Carrière-Pradal, from the organic & agroforestry-compliant French wine estate Carrière Pradal based in the Languedoc region.

Running a family business was definitely not on Baptiste's map as he was growing up and wanted to move as far as he could from his family estate in Languedoc to go and explore the world. After 18 years touring the globe for a high-level and demanding career in environmental and human right management in the fashion & sport industry, Baptiste decided to take over his family wine estate in Languedoc, France, together with his brother Clément.

Baptiste grew up in southern France, in the vineyards, until he moved to Paris where he studied Physics and qualified as an engineer. Driven by his desire to see the world, he worked for French international sports retailer Decathlon, first in Romania and then in Thailand, where he oversaw the environmental and human right management of the company’s supply chain for over a decade. This professional experience marked the beginning to his mindset shift towards embracing sustainability in all aspects of his life.

This Asian chapter also led him to an introspection on what he truly wanted out of his life.

After this long journey on the other side of the world, Baptiste relocated to The Netherlands for a new job opportunity working for an international foundation with a focus on improving sustainability in the fashion and sport industry. He also ended up finding happiness and love with Pim, his Dutch husband. 

In parallel, Baptiste started paving the way towards the rebirth of his 7-generation family wine estate. Over the following years, he spent every available weekend and holiday beside his mother, Catherine, a pioneer in organic wine-making, mastering the intricacies of caring for the land and its soil. 

We wanted to have Baptiste, come on the show here today to share his story with you -- about how he found solace in embracing his family heritage as he approached his 40s, how he designed his life to fit its many facets, and how he went about injecting his own touch to the family business.

• Get Baptiste's free guide to identifying great wines here 
• Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at thisis40podcast.com/episode2

Until next week, let us ask you: what is 40 to you?

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