Meet our winemaker: Coline sicard
Grand Mayne’s Winemaker
Coline is our new Winemaker and Head of Culture looking after the vineyard. Coline has extensive experience (vinification in Georgia, Chili and Portugal…) and is proficient in agro-engineering. With in depth knowledge of botany and chemistry, together with overall viti-vini culture, she pays the most precise attention to every detail from soil and vine growth to the process of winemaking in our cellars. As a true passion-driven naturalist and strong believer in re-establishing an ecological balance with our environment, she is the spark of a virtuous management of our vineyard and cellars.
Domaine du Grand Mayne: interview with winemaker Coline Sicard
GM: Hi Coline, so how are you this beautiful day?
CS: I am doing great, thank you, happy to be here!
GM: What is your most memorable souvenir around “wine”?
CS: Oh, that’s a tough one, so many good memories around wine! If I had to choose, it would be probably when I traveled to Georgia, one of the world oldest wine making region, to participate in the vinification process in the famous “Qvevris” which are ancient clay vessels meant to be buried underground. Everyone was incredibly caring and so eager to share their ancestral knowledge of winemaking, it was indeed humbling. This experience was incredibly authentic and definitely inspiring. Other great memories also come from traveling to other countries like Chili or Portugal and witnessing yet other terroirs and ancestral techniques.
GM: How do you feel about joining the Team Grand Mayne?
CS: Really excited! It feels as the rightful continuation of my professional path: having worked in a cooperative, consulting for other winemakers, I am now happy to be able to practice directly my skills and knowledge on a terroir, an ecosystem and importantly, to see the impacts of these efforts grow with the vineyard. In agro-engineering, one can only see the true results of ones work through the evolution of time.
GM: In terms of winemaking and viticultural practices, what are your thoughts on the erratic climatic conditions we are facing lately?
CS: I think that it shows that, now more than ever, we need to re-establish a natural balance between the work of man and ecosystems. As winemakers, this balance can be ensured by preserving our terroirs, adapting our practices for a more symbiotic interaction between Man’s needs and Nature’s health. Seeing the ecosystem as a whole (Man & Nature), we are able to evolve answering both needs. Preserving biodiversity and tailoring our techniques are key for perennial growth.
GM: Do you have a specific wine that you particularly enjoy?
CS: Coming from Southern France, I have to say that I am particularly fond of the grape variety Syrah. Wines like Côtes-Rôties and Bandol always brings back such great memories. They are full of sun, warm, well balanced with the rightful body. I love how they are so expressing and generous.
GM: Thank you Coline for this interview!
CS: You are welcome, it was fun.
Winemaking: agro-engineering works of Coline
Find out more of Coline’s work in the link below. It is her memoir for her agro-engineering degree. A precise study of the impact of magnesium and iron treatments on the physiology of vines, their yield and its quality…
