Red Island

Antonin Jamois is one of those people who has had a thousand lives: after his agronomy studies, he decided to emigrate to the island of Madagascar where he launched into aquaculture with an organic shrimp breeding farm. Subsequently he will manage a small hotel, still on the island, with his wife and this time will also take on the role of freediving fishing instructor. Life on the island is sweet but in 2014 with the arrival of their daughter, the couple wanted to return to mainland France and it was in Lugasson that they landed. Why Lugasson? Quite simply because since these agronomy studies, one idea, one desire, has not managed to leave Antonin: that of making wine. And it turns out that these in-laws have plots of land in this commune in Bordeaux’s Entre-Deux-Mer region. The Domaine de l’Île Rouge was born! The Red Island is what Madagascar is called…
At the beginning, there was only Merlot on his plots and although he likes this grape variety, Antonin finds it a little sad to only have the latter to work with and that is how he decides to set up a grafting campaign of 1,000 Castets vines, an old forgotten Bordeaux grape variety. At the same time, he decided to certify his field in organic farming in 2016, while having a biodynamic farming practice. Today his estate represents 2.5 ha of vines, isolated from other neighboring plots by meadows and forests, on an estate with a total size of 6 ha where Antonin has planted trees, fruit trees and ancient cereals. Quite simply because today man has more than a wine project, it is a global project to which he wants to give meaning.