My Story

From architecture to the vineyard

After studying architecture, I wanted to do anything but architecture. Having always worked in catering as a student job, I decided to work in the restaurant business.

I was maître d'hôtel and manager of a gourmet restaurant for three years. Three years during which I discovered wine, tasting, service, passion... Three years later, I decided to leave everything behind to discover the vineyard. 

Without knowing exactly what I was going to do... But it was wine. Trade, sommelier... But after a few months in the dizzying hillsides, it was decided: I had to make it, not sell it.

So I decided to train with Yves Cuilleron for two years, where I discovered the steep hillsides of the Rhone Valley. Then I went to New Zealand for two years, to the Stonyridge estate on a small island near Auckland. It was a very high-end estate with very precise organic viticulture.

When I returned to France, it was obvious that I had to come back to northern Rhône. I continued my apprenticeship at Pierre Jean Villa, working in the cellar and the vineyard.

I became the head of cultivation at the Pierre Jean Villa estate for three years. And in 2018, I bought my first plot, a piece of fallow land classified as a St Joseph cru. I had to clear the land, terrace it, create paths and access routes, and plant... But the estate was launched.

After that, I gradually acquired more plots, some to buy, others to rent... Now, the estate covers 8 hectares, in the Condrieu, Saint Joseph, Côte Rôtie, Vienne Seyssuel and vins de pays appellations. Four vintages later, the estate has successfully positioned itself on the menus of prestigious Michelin-starred restaurants in France and Europe, as well as in renowned wine shops.

Deleu Vineyards