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For this episode of One on One, it’s a great pleasure to welcome Nicole Rolet, the Principal of Chêne Bleu, a sustainable winery in the Rhône Valley, France.

The format is a relaxed conversation where we take our time to explore and discover the life of our Special Guest.

SPECIAL GUEST BIO
Born to a European father and an American mother, Nicole Rolet attended French lycées in New York and Milan before studying International politics at Vassar College.  After a career in international finance and at David Rockefeller’s Latin American geopolitical think tanks, she joined her husband Xavier and his family in the Rhône to restore La Verrière, an abandoned Medieval priory, and its historical vineyard, derelict but magnificently wild — a hidden gem in the heart of the Mt Ventoux UNESCO biosphere. Increasingly convinced of the site’s exciting potential to produce Grand Cru-quality wine, she studied at WSET then UC Davis, and with her family began to transform this medieval Sleeping Beauty into a cutting-edge sustainable wine estate. Chêne Bleu wines were launched in 2009 to critical acclaim. Nicole believes in collaboration rather than competition, and remains deeply committed to reconciling business success, social responsibility, ethical and sustainable practices.
Chevalier de Tastevin in Burgundy, at the Echansonnerie in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and the International Brotherhood of the Vine, she co-founded the International Grenache Symposium and Grenache Association in 2010.  She founded the think tank Fine Minds for Fine Wines in 2017 then co-founded the Areni Institute for the Future of Fine Wine, which she now chairs.  She is on the board of the Sustainable Food Program at Yale University, judge and presenter at the Women of the Future awards, delegate at the Global Female Leaders’ Summit, founding member of the St James Circle at the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House), and impact investor in the She-EO perpetual fund.

Links to Nicole Rolet’s Chêne Bleu:
Web: https://www.chenebleu.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Chenebleuwine/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chenebleu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chenebleuwine
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chenebleu/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvuTYXJ6i791AVctvFmMigQ

Recorded Live on March 25, 2021 in Crestet, France.
The interview is in English.

ABOUT ONE ON ONE
One Special Guest – One Heart to Heart Conversation
For season 2, we are evolving the concept of the programme. We are still discussing our guests’ journey but with more emphasis on their surrounding food and wine culture and how it is affecting them. We are also looking at social and other issues that are important to them. The only thing that remains the same from one interview to the next is the Pivot Questionnaire at the end…