Portrait of wines: the Côtes de Provence of an epicurean winemaker

Portrait

Born in Marseille with Provençal descent, Régine Sumeire is the granddaughter of Gabriel Sumeire, a visionary wine merchant who gradually built up a wine empire in the Var region to control production and quality.

Following in the footsteps of her grandfather and father Roger Sumeire, from whom she learned the profession of winegrower, Régine Sumeire has never stopped working to enhance the value of the wines of Provence, through a continuous process of improving their quality, through meticulous observation and respect for the cycles of nature, constant care of the vines and innovation.

She also contributed greatly to their international recognition, notably with the creation in 1985 of the ‘Pétale de Rose’ vintage, the first clear rosé of Provence.

As the head of both the Château la Tour de l’Evêque and the Château Barbeyrolles vineyards, she has become the standard-bearer for a convivial new form of gastronomy where rosés, with length and finish, go beyond the sole time of the aperitif to earn their rightful place on the table.

True to the values of respect for nature and authenticity handed down by her father and grandfather, Régine Sumeire has obtained organic and biodynamic certification for these 2 estates.

As for the harvest, it has long been done manually.

Gastronautical confessions

“In my family, cooking is a real tradition; sharing a good meal, an unavoidable ritual. Entertaining is the best way to introduce people to our work, our estates and our wines. I personnaly find it impossible to think of wine without the pleasures of the table.” Régine Sumeire

How do you see your role as a winegrower in Provence?

It is to share my passion for wine and to pass on my respect for nature and my know-how as a winemaker, so that the teams at La Tour de l’Evêque and Barbeyrolles estates continue to produce quality wines.

Wine is not just about the money, it’s an expression of an environment, a culture, and a history. And Provence can be proud of its splendid soils that are capable of producing great wines whatever their colour!

To achieve this, we must give ourselves time, observe nature, respect its cycles without ever exploiting it, and work on the long term, for future generations.

Our wines are not reserved for elite connoisseurs. They are elegant, refined but not intimidating.

What is your relationship to nature?

“Give the earth what it has given you” was a favourite phrase of my grandfather Gabriel Sumeire.

Very early on, I discovered the pleasures of country life, spending a large part of my childhood between Trets, at the foot of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, and Hyères, my grandparents’ home.

They taught me to know nature, to know how to observe it, to choose a vegetable well, to pick a fruit when it is ripe, to recognise mushrooms… This is what gave me the taste for good things.

Moreover, my life as a winegrower is a life of observation of nature. Everything is carefully noted: rainfall, flowering dates, harvest dates, etc.

What is your relationship to the maritime world?

Grandparents with a villa on the Côte Bleue, a mother who spent her childhood in Sausset-les-Pins, an estate in Hyères, a childhood in Marseille and, when the weather was fine, sea bathing on the beaches of the Var region. This attachment to the sea has always been a very strong link for me.

Later, fishing friends introduced me to the treasures of the Mediterranean Sea. It is to them that I owe one of my greatest memories of ‘bouillabaisse’ dish, prepared at the ‘trou des pêcheurs’ on Porquerolles.

I also have wonderful memories of eating sea urchins meals right in the boat.

What is your experience of the sailing world?

When I was a student, I often went sailing in Greece and Turkey, invited by very close friends. We were in the water all day, eating what we caught: sea urchins, groupers… I have wonderful memories of it!

In the 1980s, some friends and I decided to make rosé known through a memorable action: the ‘Route des Rosés’, a sailing race crossing from Saint-Tropez to St. Barts.

In addition to combining our two passions in the same event: wine and the sea, this media operation had the ambition of developing rosé sales on the American market.

The skippers had cases of a selection of 12 Provence rosés in the holds of their sailing boats which they had to bring to port.

Some food and wine pairings for SAIL & COOK cruises?

I recommend combining Mediterranean fish with rosés and whites.

A monkfish poached in a court-bouillon served on a salad, a fish with baked fennel, shrimps à la plancha, a soufflé with the full-bodied shellfish sauce… All of this goes very well with Barbeyrolles rosés. It’s also a fine choice to accompany veal or sweetbreads.

Try the Petale de Rose rosé with grilled prawns, a cheese soufflé or with salmon cooked on one side and you will have a marriage of colours!

Unite the Tour de l’Évêque wine with a leg of lamb or sweetbreads with morels and you’ll tell me all about it.

Texts : Agnès Jésupret www.larembobineuse.fr