Behind the vine

Agnès Paquet - Domaine Agnès Paquet - Burgundy, France

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

Wine has always been part of my life. Burgundy is, firstly, my home, but in the world, Burgundy is a hidden gem: one of the smallest regions, but famous.

My family had always owned a vineyard, and when I was 20 my parents decided to sell the vineyard and I thought it was a shame, so I took over. I was a bit young and crazy, I think! At first, I liked wine, but thought I would focus on selling it, not making it as I had a business degree. Then I changed my mind and decided to make my own wine and keep that vineyard. 20 years ago, it wasn't so usual for a woman to run the Domaine by herself, and I didn't realise the amount of work it would be to start a Domaine, but I did it. My first vintage was 2001.

What story does your wine tell?

Two important things, the personality and the terroir.

Personality comes into the wine because we make wine as we are. For the white - I like vineyards with stoney soil that give minerality and freshness to the wine. For the red I like to have fruity, not too deep wine.

Then you have the terroir, and that’s the most important. It's important to let the vine speak and it’s my honour to give the terroir to the wine. The idea is to work a lot in the vineyard and not so much in the winery. In 2004 I stopped using chemicals, and in 2008 we started to practice organic farming, and now we're Organic Certified for the '21 vintage. We let the grape do its job, we don’t use filtration or add anything.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

Wine is not an artwork, it is made to be drunk and appreciated (even the most expensive one). Even when you taste a wine, the first thing you say is you like, or don't like. It's not important to know the right word to describe the wine, it's just to have pleasure.

Even in Burgundy, price goes up and up. Some bottles are going around the world before drinking. That's a big mistake. You see a bottle, you should drink it - we make wine to give people pleasure.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

Wine is often associated to a moment between people. If you share a bottle with someone you like, it's different than if you drink it by yourself. It's not just the wine, it's about feeling together.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

It is a fantastic job…I wouldn’t change it for anything BUT It is a very hard work : physically and mentally.

It's also important to visit to understand the wine. You should come and meet the person behind the wine, come to the cellar.

Where can women find your wine?

In many restaurants in France and aboard. But women are welcome here, at the domaine to discover my wines!

Email here to find distributors.