Already small...

Ekaterina's family owned a few acres of vines in the Codrii mountains, a forested area in central Moldavia, whose grapes were used to supply the family or sent to the local cooperative. Even as a child, Ekaterina dreamed of a future winery. I was introduced to winemaking by my parents when I used to sneak in to watch the fermenting vats. Attracted but also challenged by my budding interest, my mother convinced me a few years later to attend the Chisinau Agricultural Institute. A general curriculum, including oenology, delivered by this institution in the country's capital. A promising start.

Departure for France

Stepping off the train after a long journey with just three words of French in her head, Ekaterina is a little bewildered by such a radical change. But her assertive temperament is not quickly disarmed. She went to Nantes as part of a recent student exchange program set up by ENITIAA, now known as ONIRIS Grande École, which depends on the French Ministry of Agriculture.

I must have been among the very first to benefit from this exchange, and I felt like a guinea pig, a position that forged my determination and my desire to stay in France.

It's not easy, but realizing your ambitions and dreams requires strength of character and resilience.

I'm staying!

This is the land of wine and a child's dream, and she realises that her future can only lie there. After a series of internships and contracts, but not in the wine industry, Ekaterina found herself hired by Senoble in Russia to promote dairy products. And what about wine? A member of the HEC wine club after her studies, she returned to Paris to attend training courses given by Franck Thomas, Europe's best sommelier in 2000. She was hired by a Bordeaux wine merchant. Her passion for wine is growing...

Drama

It's all coming down to this beautiful year 2019. Married in the meantime, Ekaterina learns that her in-laws are looking for someone to take over her 70 hectares of wheat and alfalfa in Saint-Julien-de-Cassagnas, a remote corner of the Gard in the foothills of the Cévennes. I decided to leave everything behind and plant a few hectares of vines, while my husband opted to grow aromatic plants. Eventually, it all came together...

The station

As the end of the journey, the couple settled in the village station. Reminiscent of their childhood, a small village, a large building to be fitted out, vines to be planted instead of wheat. But also the trace of the past which joins the family tradition left in this distant East. The planted plots have known the vines from the time of the Trappist monks. The image of a centuries-old vineyard speaks to the imagination, reassures it too, we know that here it is possible and gives free rein to the abundance of ideas, projects and desires.

The project

The project's two guiding principles: environmental sustainability and creativity. Ekaterina has planted 13 grape varieties and 240 trees on a 7-hectare plot in a single block, using the vitiforestry concept: rows of vines alternate with rows of olive and oak trees, creating ecological corridors covered with melliferous flowers. Beehives and nesting boxes complete the ensemble. As for the choice of grape varieties, the following criteria were taken into account: white Assyrtiko, white Alvarinho, Saperavi, white Verdejo and Nielluccio for their tolerance to hydric stress; white Muscaris, white Soreli for their tolerance to cryptogamic diseases and 'Tradition': Syrah, Mourvèdre, white Chardonnay, white Sauvignon, white Vermentino and Pinot Noir. I grow the vines in goblets on acacia stiles and have opted for single-varietal vinification with minimal intervention to express the terroir. For me, bringing diversity back into the plot is the key to its expression. The wines resulting from these approaches deliver unknown sensations, flavors to be rediscovered, a clear connection with nature. Everything has to be created, and that's great! The possibilities seem endless, but the work involved is enormous. I've been at it for twenty years now, and having arrived in France without knowing the language, all the steps I took before settling down mean that I'm no longer afraid to take on a challenge of this scale...