Restaurant Mamie Cocotte

Where are you from ? I have always been from Fuissé, in Petites Bruyères, and I live there now. I always stayed around. I studied at the Lycée de Davayé, then I lived a little in Serrières, in Mâcon, in Varennes, in short, in a restricted area. This hasn't stopped me from traveling, as a tourist, but to live well in your environment, you have to know it. Why this job? What is your background ? Basically I didn't want to do that. My father and my grandfather were winegrowers, and I initially wanted to do sport, tennis, but also drawing, the fine arts. In college you have to make a choice when you don't yet really know what you want to do. Drawing is either you have luck and you succeed, or you struggle. Rationally, I turned to the vineyard. Not necessarily out of love at first, but afterwards it allowed me to practice my art differently and above all to be free in my movements. My grandfather died when I was 10 years old, my father died in 2010. When I arrived at the estate in 2000, I wanted to do lots of things, change everything, but my family told me no. So I worked, I learned, I observed. From 2006 I gradually took over the reins in a fairly chaotic period. I decided at that moment to change a lot of things: I took as much information as possible and I came to put the first scratches in the ground. I did stupid things, like everyone else, and I learned and I was patient. I had to fight with my family to be able to implement these practices, for them it was going back to the time of the pickaxe, it went against progress, and I almost gave up several times. Today, my mother is obliged to recognize the success of this project. She still lives in the Domaine house, and people often congratulate us on our approach. Among my experiences: music in the vat, winemaking in amphorae, transparent bottles, etc. I like to experiment with lots of things and find out more about a subject. Why here? The deed of sale of Domaine de Fuissé to my family is from 1910. Before the place was not called “Petites Bruyères”, but “La petite maison dans la prairie”. It's our family estate, my mother still lives there, and I in a house right next door. Your favorite place on the Grand Site? I often go to Régine's, at the Café de la Gare in Charnay. It's a nice place, with a beautiful view of the two Roches. With the greenway next to it, it's alive. Your best memory on the Grand Site? In 2000 when I was interning at Roger Saumaize, we finished the harvest on La Roche de Vergisson at 4 a.m. and we had a party to celebrate the end of the harvest. It was really nice.