Behind the elegant wines of Domaine Rewa lies a love story. An amorous collision of a Kiwi girl and a Frenchman, and their affinity for the land through the soil and clay of their preoccupations. From a serendipitous crossing of paths, the couple’s bond has been strengthened by a small, perfectly formed vineyard on the foothills of Central Otago’s Pisa Range which had, like their relationship, a charmingly quirky genesis.
OUR STORY
An Amorous Collision
THE KIWI CONNECTION
Philippa Shepherd (now Fourbet) was born and raised on a farm in the small town of Waitahuna, just under two hours drive south-east of Domaine Rewa. Happy childhood days planting trees gave her a love of the land and a desire for a land-based business. Philippa’s financial career had Philippa living in London but her sights were set on returning. She always knew she wanted to grow old in New Zealand and, with a passion for food and wine, the idea of a vineyard appealed.
Returning to
her Roots
her Roots
In 2009, on discovering a Pisa Range property for sale which had been thoughtfully planted in 1999 by the Lawrences of Aurum Wines, Philippa was presented with the opportunity to realise her dream. Four days later she was the blissfully ignorant owner of a small Central Otago vineyard and Philippa credits the Lawrence family’s foresight, dedication and passion in those early years as being the integral foundation of Domaine Rewa.
The French Potter
Yannick Fourbet’s childhood was a West African adventure that saw him develop a fondness for water sports skiing along Camaroon’s crocodile-lined rivers before returning to his French homeland to pursue his education. Yannick’s route to pottery was by way of a brief exploration of marine biology in California, a degree in marketing, and a return to France where he dealt in and restored antiques.
As the proprietor of Le Chêne Vert, a horticultural pottery business in Anduze in the South of France, Yannick was captivated by a farmer creating pots using plywood and an ancestral rope-coil technique. Over a pichet of rosé Yannick sweet talked Gilbert Serres in to teaching his technique that Yannick uses in his Domaine Rewa studio today to craft unique artisanal horticultural pots that grace New Zealand landscapes.
Stars align in Central Otago
When London-based Philippa walked into Le Chêne Vert in 2012 she was enamoured. Not with Yannick, but with his exceptional craftsmanship. Keeping in touch over potentially importing the handmade Anduze pots to New Zealand, the pair met again a year later when the entrepreneur was exhibiting at London’s Chelsea Flower Show. At this point Philippa saw the potter through the pots and marriage, babies and relocation to New Zealand happened in quick succession. In another twist of fate the bucolic beauty of Domaine Rewa came complete with a stone house in the vineyard. Their very own French cadole in New Zealand where they could give their boys roots and wings.
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