When I first met Sébastien, I asked him “what brought you to winemaking?”. I expected the classic “I love wine” or “my dad was a winemaker” but instead he replied with a priceless smile: “Honestly it could have been beer, apples, pumpkins… all I wanted was to become a Paysan (farmer).

Having grown up on a farm, young Sébastien is fascinated by the beauty of mother nature. To protect it, he set out to become an agricultural engineer. Freshly-graduated and ready for action, he joins the French Federation of Biological Agriculture with high hopes which get quickly crushed by the weight of bureaucracy, endless meetings and politics 😤

Seriously frustrated, slightly pissed, Seb decides to quits his job overnight in order to take over the old farm of his grandfather André. Engineer Seb is now Seb the Paysan in its most noble form 👨🏻‍🌾

Sébastien’s philosophy is centuries old and really sounds like common sense. He believes that nature gives its best when a true virtuous ecosystem is in place, when the animals contribute to the wellness of the soil which itself contributes to the wellness of the vines which itself contributes to the wellness of the animals.

This ecosystem, Seb initiates it in 2013 by bringing sheep 🐑, ewe, Highland Scottish Cattle cows 🐂 and goats 🐐. He also plants a lot of trees, a lot as in all of them 😅. Apple trees, pear trees, plum trees, almond trees, olive trees, cherry trees, hazelnut trees, fig trees, apricot trees. These trees adjoin fields of wheat, barley, rye... It could be enough, but his virtuous circle doesn’t stop there. Sébastien thinks that it should be extended to the men and women who work in the farm. Since day 1, he makes it a point of honour to pay a fair wage to his 4 full time employees. Happy people making happy wine for happy people 🙌

As an authentic farmer, Séb didn't have an Instagram but he does now!