Domaine de la Chevalerie - Vignoble Pelletant, located in the village of Saint-Amant-de-Nouère, is spread out over 35 hectares of vines and makes a wide variety of products, ranging from Cognac to grape juice.

I come from four generations of winemakers and have taken over the family estate. However, before I became the passionate man that I am today, I came a long way, through making my way… my own way.

Because the wine world is governed by many restrictions and much legislation, it is not easy to gain prominence for a new player in the game who proposes to innovate by shaking up ancestral methods.

In fact, I have always liked to rewrite the rule-book and have fun doing so.

From my professional beginnings, I wanted to reach out to new horizons. I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to make my plots of vines my playground and look upon them every morning with the same eagerness as I did for my first steps in winemaking, then I had to develop a different project, in keeping with my values and viewing my experience as a source of inspiration.

As a result, after several years spent working far from the land of my birth to learn the many facets of the winemaking trade, I decided to return, full of inspiration.

In 2011, a year that was a turning point in my professional life, I wanted to make my passion my profession, but on one condition: to take my profession on roads less travelled, to go off the beaten track with the idea of bringing a new perspective, outside conventional routes.

Choosing a new path for my professional activity helped me, little-by-little, to combine my artistic tastes with my vocation and to swath it with a unique soul conducive to creativity. Consequently, cordial receptions focused on artists have been organised on the estate as well as many other events.

My playground has become yours as well, but also a means of sharing with you, visitors from near or far, and experiencing surprising encounters.

Jean Pierre GOUDOUNEIX

Exhibition 2016