For nothing happens without reason…
October 2015, Nicolas, a friend who works in wine, takes me to a salon near Nantes. At the Domaine de l'Écu stand, Fred Niger has me taste his amphora-aged Melon de Bourgogne. The wine moves me, literally — I still remember it vividly.
Six months later, I join Fred at l'Écu for an internship, followed by harvest. Seized by passion, I leave a safe career in interior design and furniture to immerse myself in the dirt and the vines. The viticulture school in Amboise — at the time the only one in France specialising in organic and biodynamic farming and winemaking — introduces me to remarkable teachers: Anne-Cécile Jadaud, Damien Delecheneau, Vincent Carême, Tanguy Perraud, Philippe Chigard…
Harvest 2018, Fred mentions a small estate not far from l'Écu. Arriving at Domaine de la Providence, love at first sight: I fall instantly for these gnarly vines — like the century-old Melon — deeply rooted in granite and schist subsoils, and for the gentle farming practices. I move into a small house next to the cellar and start pruning.
The following year, the adventure truly begins: we harvest a parcel of Gamay at la Providence and make my first wine, with an amphora lent by Fred and Claire, his partner, and their administrative support. Eighteen months later, my dream becomes real: the wine is bottled. Christened Kaïros — the opportune moment, the right instant, a symbolic name for a wine born out of serendipity.
Driven by that first success, Claire, Fred and I create AB Initio in August 2020. Me in the role of artisan winemaker — selecting the growers and the parcels, creating and crafting the wines, bringing them to market — with the indispensable material and logistical support of Fred and Claire. A range of wines born of passion, philosophy and friendship begins to take shape.
The beginning — initio — of a wine is often found in the long, meditative pruning periods, another crucial moment. Presto, a singular take on the three Nantais grapes, draws its inspiration from a field blend; Philia, the image of Breton summers at my grandfather's house, was born while pruning old Folle Blanche vines in relentless December rain.
Little by little, a world takes shape — my world. AB Initio is the natural estuary of my life — all its currents, all its silt, all its force. A project of conviction, carrying everything that made me, everything I hold dear: my grandfather and his boat, heading out to fish in the bay of Douarnenez, along the coasts of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Saint-Nazaire, where I was born. The ocean, an ever-present force in my family. An abundance of fish, seafood, oysters — the fabric of my childhood, naturally reflected in the personality of my wines: in their salinity, their tension, but also their breeze-like lightness. Brittany, an anchor of identity; the Muscadet, a new-found home, a terroir discovered. My philosophy studies, my need to look beneath the surface, reflected in the names of the wines, in the way I approach the vines, the wines, the people I work with. All these turning points, these encounters that move us.
For nothing happens without reason — nihil fit sine causa…
The next encounter: you.
The story continues on your wine list.
