Andres Arocena goes into the wine business
The Michelin-starred chef of MichelineAndrés Arocena adds a new string to his bow. After establishing his culinary signature in Geneva, he is now unveiling a project close to his heart: his own wine, developed hand-in-hand with winemaker Sébastien Villard. “The Domaine Villard & Fils has been sold in the restaurant since day one,” confides the chef. From this loyalty grew a friendship, then the desire to go further, to create together a cuvée that reflects both the precision of a chef and the sensibility of a winemaker. This first attempt, from the 2022 vintage, produced just 300 bottles; a well-balanced blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Divico, aged ten months in barrel. For the 2023 vintage, the duo chose to push the experiment even further: 18 months of ageing, production doubled to 600 bottles, and always the same attention to detail, so dear to Andrés Arocena. “We’re very proud of this wine, happy with the results and, above all, happy to be working with a winemaker like Sébastien Villard,” he exclaims.
