Anthéa Bruno, enologist of Charlois group, by Stéphane Ebel

Between wines and oaks

Her Mediterranean accent escapes no one, melodious and welcoming, like her. Anthéa Bruno, 31 years old, is from Berre l’Étang, near Marseille. An agricultural territory. Anthéa arrived in the region four years ago out of love and stayed there out of passion for her profession: enologist.

This morning in March, Anthéa welcomes a group of about twenty students in Murlin. Forest management students. On the menu for this day, a tour in the Bertranges forest, then a visit of the facilities in Murlin. From stave mill to cooperage through the wood park. For Anthéa, “Visits are a real pleasure, I really like it. It’s a pretty nice part of my job. Presenting the group, the facilities, the know-how, it’s pure happiness. ” The other side of Anthéa’s job is wine making. An environment that she discovered almost by chance during her studies.

The revelation of vine and wine

She had a scientific knowledge about wines more precisely chemical. Graduated in oenology, Anthéa arrived in the Loire Valley, in Sancerre, during an end-of-study internship. Looking for a job in a region where wine and vines are sacred. From her native land, she keeps a love of the terroir, of the agricultural world. “My parents, my grandparents, were tomato producers in Berre l’Etang. It was the capital of the tomato before that Spain, and in particular Andalusia, began to produce in an ultra-intensive way “. Take over from his parents ? The question arose. But, if the agricultural world is engraved in the DNA of Anthéa, it is to biology and biotechnology that the young woman will turn. A BTS (advanced technician’s certificate) in biotechnology, then a first year of Master in plant biology and microbiology. “I quickly understood, during an internship, that working in a laboratory in basic research did not make me vibrate. I heard about a Master Vine and Wine, it spoke to me immediately.” Direction Montpellier, the school of agronomy and the discovery of a universe that will be a revelation.

In the right place at the right time

Today, Anthéa works in the Laboratoire Exact in Murlin, at the Research and Innovation department. A job landed a little more than three years ago, almost by chance “I was in the right place at the right time” modestly specifies the interested party. “I discovered the region during an internship at SICAVAC in Sancerre. An internship that only confirmed that I had made the right choice by orienting myself in the wine world. “In the process, Anthéa applied to several wine estates of Sancerre before settling there looking for a job. The journey was actually quite short. By acquaintance, she applied to the Charlois group: “I was told that my profile could interest them”. She was right. A month later, Anthéa joined the group.

The oak in the service of enology

In addition to the staves, intended for the production of wine barrels, the Charlois group has developed a whole range of services and products from the oak for many professionals: coopers, winegrowers, cork makers… Improve wines, develop aromas from quality products from oak, these are the tasks that fall, among others, to Anthéa. “Oak has natural properties which act directly or indirectly on wine. The heating, the aging in barrels or the addition of raw material directly into the wine. These are the aspects on which I work in connection with the group’s sales representatives, the winegrowers, etc. It’s exciting, I learn things every day. And what a pleasure to work with such a noble product with prestigious houses, what a pleasure to work for a group that gives itself the means to work well, to innovate and to go always further in research and development to satisfy its customers”.

The forest, jobs, a family

In three years, Anthéa learned a lot from the Charlois group. It is an understatement to say that she knows it on the fingertips. You only have to participate in one of her visits to understand. Stave-making, the cooperage, the maturation of wood, the forest, the oak and its derivative products, without forgetting the group and the Charlois family whose history she knows. “I come from agriculture, from a family farm. I know the value of the land, the terroir and the family values. Values ​​that I find here in Murlin and in the other subsidiaries of the group. Men and women who remained simple, accessible. It’s a pleasure to work in this atmosphere, it makes you want to give your all, to go further, all together. We have the means to work well and that’s what we do. It’s not for nothing that Charlois is the leader in its field. Like oak, the group  grows, becomes stronger, without forgetting where its roots are, that speaks to me. My life is here now!”

Picture : © Christophe Deschanel