Could adopting a vine with Cuvée Privée be the transparency wine consumers are looking for?

There has become a common theme in the wine industry in recent years, from the labelling of wine to asking to know exactly how the wine was made: transparency. Consumers want to know what has gone into their bottle - whether or not the grapes were grown organically; how exactly was the wine filtered, using which fining agents; who picks the grapes and are they paid fairly; what chemical processes were used in the vineyard and in the winery (- and I am allergic to them?) ...on and on. As well as what is in our wine and what we are putting into our bodies, marketeers know, more than ever, that ‘story’ is vital. Millennials, more than any other age group before, are most likely to become loyal to a product or brand, because of the story behind it - and it had better be honest. In a world where we often feel we are losing personal connection, young consumers (in particular) want to relate to the brands they support - they want to connect. With a level of choice out there growing year on year, we want to choose things in our lives that speak to us authentically and represent us on a personal level.

So, how about when we choose our wine, we know the exact vines it comes from? We know precisely how the vines grew, when the grapes started to appear, how they ripened during the year, when they were picked, how they were made into wine, when the wine was bottled and by whom. We can actually meet the winemaker and visit the vineyard. We can see our vines in the flesh (we know they are ours because they have our name tagged onto them) and we will get a case of wine made from them sent to us in the post to drink at home.

To us cynical Brits, this might seem a little gimmicky - it’s all very well having our name on a vine and having personalised bottles to show off to all our friends, but how do we know the quality of the juice is going to be any good? Well, when the vineyards are chosen by a highly respected Parisian sommelier and include appellations such as Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Champagne and prestigious estate, Château Suduiraut, which produces world-renowned Sauternes, I think we can stick our cynicism into our pipes and smoke it.

Cuvée Privée was founded in 2018 by three wine lovers, Marie, Aurélie and Morganne, who met at  University in Paris. They were united in their feeling that wine needed to be brought closer to the consumer and by putting a face and a terroir behind a bottle, the wine becomes even more meaningful.

They have appointed Bernard Neveu, Head Sommelier at Le Bristol Paris, to handpick the vineyards for Cuvée Privée’s portfolio. His selection process is so rigorous that only one out of ten vineyards pass it. High on his agenda are responsible viticultural practices - a guarantee of respect for the environment and quality in the bottle.

If you were to experience the Cuvée Privée journey from vine to wine, you would first choose a vineyard from the website (there are 22 to choose from). Next, you select the duration of your subscription (one, two or three years) and whether you want one bottle of wine from the current vintage in your welcome pack or six. Subscriptions start at £120 and go up to £560, depending on the type of wine. 

At the vineyard, six vines will be picked for you and a medallion bearing your name will be attached to them. Back at home, you’ll receive a welcome box with a personalised wine inside, a certificate of adoption, information about the winemaker and the plot, plus an invitation for two to visit the vineyard. During the year, you’ll receive monthly updates about your vines and at the end of the subscription year, you’ll receive six personalised bottles of wine from your vines.

To get an idea of the process, Cuvée Privée, sent me a welcome package, including a personalised bottle of wine. I chose the Saint-Émilion Grand Cru from Château de la Cour. It’s a exciting experience to receive a beautiful bottle of wine through the post, with my name emblazoned across the label! Inside the box was information about my winemaker, Julien Sroka, who has been maintaining the estate’s efforts towards sustainable viticultural practices, which is in the process of becoming organic.

Bernard Neveu selected Château de la Cour because it is a tiny vineyard (only 3.1 hectares) in one of Bordeaux’s most popular appellations. The specific parcel of La Cabane is situated on the lowlands at the bottom of the Saint-Émilion village, where some of the Merlot vines are over 50 years old. The wines from here are, in Bernard’s opinion, light, balanced and of excellent quality. 

My wine can be drank immediately or left to be aged in cellar conditions for several years. I decided to drink it with pan-fried duck breast and green beans. I was extremely impressed by the quality of the wine - it was a wine that lasted throughout dinner and the whole evening, such was its structure and length. I savoured every sip, as it continued to open up, hour after hour. Almonds developed into marzipan; baking spices melted into coffee. Thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyable.

I think this is a fantastic way to buy wine. Just the wine alone is good value - for a total of seven bottles of my wine, it works out at just over £27 per bottle, which is reasonable for a wine of this calibre. But, knowing where the wine is from, how it was made and by whom, elevates its value immeasurably, if you care about those kinds of things (which I do). Add in the personalisation, the monthly updates and the invitation to the vineyard and you’ve got yourself really well-priced experience. Plus, you’d also be supporting an all-female founded start-up, which I think is awesome.

Cuvée Privée expect to have 50,000 vine adopters all over the world by 2022, who will get to enjoy wines with complete transparency. Will you be one of them? Visit Cuvée Privée here.