Portraits of winemakers

JEAN-FRÉDÉRIC BISTAGNE, DOMAINE DES MARAVILHAS : A WINEGROWER IN THE LAND OF WONDERS AND BIODYNAMICS

A Career Change Born from a Fusion Encounter

Wonderful. That’s the feeling that overwhelms Jean-Frédéric and his wife Morgane when they discover a vineyard planted on an "ocean of pebbles" near the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The vineyard in question belongs to one Frédéric Duseigneur. At the time, Jean-Frédéric was working in the IT industry. "I had met a winemaker a few years earlier who instilled in me a passion and desire to work in the wine industry. So, we started looking for a vineyard. The real turning point came when we discovered Frédéric's estate. For us, it was obvious; he was the one we had been looking for," Jean-Frédéric explains. In 2014, the couple took over the estate and named it "Domaine des Maravilhas," which means "Estate of Wonders" in Occitan.

"Biodynamics is Primarily a Philosophy"

Beyond the stunning landscape and this fusion encounter, another criterion contributed to the couple's love for the estate: the estate's certification in biodynamic viticulture. This winemaking practice involves treating the vine as a living being while considering the environment in which it evolves. "Some critics of biodynamics reduce it to esoteric practices because it involves, among other things, various lunar rhythms. But for us, our view of biodynamics is quite pragmatic. It's about observing the vine's development as a whole, both in the soil and as a plant. It requires dedicating time and being in harmony with it. We have a holistic qualitative view of nature, which allows us to gain a better understanding of the laws of the 'living.' It's a philosophy!" Jean-Frédéric believes, whose ambition is to produce "living wines."

Award-Winning Vintages

By "living wines," the winemaker means wines whose character varies depending on the environment they are in, the time of year, or the climate. "The idea is that as long as the vine can thrive on a living soil with all its microbes, insects, earthworms, and various yeast strains, its quality remains intact. It’s quite possible that one of our wines might taste a certain way on Monday but change significantly by Wednesday. This is how you recognize its personality: it shows that it is alive and subject to the vagaries of life and the surrounding elements. A bit like us, after all."

Every day, Jean-Frédéric oversees his vines and the smooth running of the estate, with the help of a cellar master and a vineyard manager. Since 2015, Domaine des Maravilhas has owned and operated a plot in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, located in the very heart of the appellation. "Sharing the enthusiasm and commitment that drive our work as winemakers and reflecting it in the glasses is our ambition," proudly declares Jean-Frédéric, whose vintages have been awarded several times.