Visit to Beaujolais
Yuko and Bob are remarkable people. Yuko is the Japanese translator of the Harry Potter books. While Bob is a leader in the international education field.
What’s more they have a wonderful chateau, south of Burgundy in France (see photo). And they also have a vineyard in Jullié in Beaujolais.
How did they come to be winemakers?
First, they were inspired by the market potential in Japan, where the price of French wine is still very high. And then Bob, being a South Australian, is passionate about all things wine, and knows well about the industry through his interests there.
So a few years back they bought the Domaine de Boischampt in Jullié.
Yuko and Bob describe their investment as an adventure – “a human adventure, a passionate adventure, an encounter”.
It is the discovery of a region where viticulture dates back to Roman times. It is also the meeting of a Domaine created in 1642, the meeting of men and women who are enthusiastic and passionate, a true love.
The Domaine de Boischampt links its history to the Juliénas terroir. The name of Juliénas comes from Julius Caesar and his Roman legions who would have stopped to quench their thirst during the Gallic Wars.
When Yuko and Bob took over the vineyard in 2018, the vines and operations were run down. But this gave them the opportunity to hire a new team to rehabilitate the vineyard and put their own stamp on it.
The new team led by General Manager Antoine Romero and Winemaker Thibaud Baudin are converting the vineyards towards organic farming, and already making inroads into markets beyond France, like Australia, Canada and Japan.
Being in Beaujolais, the Gamay Noir is the lead grape variety for the wines. But Domaine de Boischampt also makes an excellent white wine from the Chardonnay grape.
Some wine snobs turn their nose up at Beaujolais. But they are wrong to do so. I tasted both the red and white Beaujolais from Domaine de Boischampt. They certainly hold their own compared with some of the so-called fine wines of France further north.
And Yuko and Bob’s adventure in Domaine de Boischampt demonstrates how investors can bring new ideas and modernisation to vineyards which may have suffered from lack of care from previous owners.
Congratulations to Yuko and Bob!