![PFV Prize](jpg/pfv-prize-2022-brun-de-vian-tiran-2-1038x498.jpg)
Primum Familiae Vini, the group of 12 leading family fine-wine estates, has announced the latest winner of its annual PFV Family is Sustainability Prize for 2022.
Brun de Vian-Tiran, a French independent, family-owned silk and wool manufacturer, will receive the €100,000 PFV prize, which looks “to encourage independent family-owned companies to continue their projects and to encourage product excellence, generational succession and social responsibility.”
PFV winners: Eight generations of care
Founded on the river Sourgue in Provence in 1808, Brun de Vian-Tiran has, in the words of the PFV statement, “managed to survive through wars, crisis, and international competition for eight generations.”
The seventh-generation Pierre Brun and his son Jean-Louis, work with wool sourced from local shepherds in the Arles and Alp regions, and were singled out by the PFV for initiatives that “provide a shining example of sustainability and the continuation of ancient way of life.”
Among Pierre Brun’s achievements has been a successful search for the descendants of the Spanish merino sheep brought to France by Louis XVI in 1786. The family now produces wool from 15 local flocks bred from the original merino’s genes.
The family has also been involved in a project on the edge of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, sourcing baby camel hair from local herders, and thereby providing them with a vital source of extra income.
Family, community, origins
“It was hard to select the winner from among so many good applicants, but our jury were impressed by the Brun’s commitment to family continuity, to its local community, and to the origin of its raw-materials,” said PFV president, Priscilla Incisa Della Rocchetta of Tenuta San Guido.
“Today with 50 employees (factory, shop, and museum combined ) and with some of their staff being in the fourth or fifth generation working with them, they are a great model for all family companies.”
“We are deeply touched to have received this prize because not only do we share the same family values as the PFV family members, we also have in common the fact we seek out the best nature has to offer, and seek to bring out its beauty through human intervention,” added Jean-Louis Brun, Managing Director of Brun de Vian-Tiran
“Today I represent the eighth generation as head of this family firm and this PFV award will enable us to continue down the path of innovation by supporting development projects for product design.
“I am proud to keep the Brun de Vian-Tiran adventure going; an adventure that, by creating that timeless product—cloth—attests to a family’s commitment to French know-how and regions down the centuries.”
Primum Familiae Vini Prize Lunch 2021: Exquisite craftmanship