Interview: how Mas de Daumas Gassac wines hit the big time

"My father bought the property [in Languedoc, southern France] in 1968 with my mother, his second wife. It was a forest at the time. My mum wanted to be far from the city, though she knew urbanisation would catch up. Back then, in the evenings, it was completely dark. It was a wide valley with green oaks, lavender, thyme and sage growing wild. The property included a mas, a traditional farmhouse built by farmers, who were self-sufficient with their food, sheep, wine, olives. As their families expanded, they would add another level to the house."

"Not at all! Around 1945 he finished his studies in one of the best schools in France, but he wanted to be a farmer. His father was not pleased because he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and be the head of a factory making leather gloves. Eventually, in the 1970s, with my mum, my dad made his dream come true. They both shared a love of wine and sought the advice of Henri Enjalbert, a geologist from the University of Bordeaux, to analyse the soil on the land they had bought. He said the soil was unique and predicted they could make grand cru in 200 years. My parents heard the first part of the sentence, not the second. In 1972, they began planting vines, 17,000 cuttings from traditional ancient cabernet sauvignon [vines] from Bordeaux. Languedoc is not known for growing cabernet sauvignon, which is why we became known as the 'black sheep of Languedoc'. For 200 years, Languedoc was known for producing entry-level wine - this area produces more wine than Australia, but at least it's consistent. We get good weather from the Atlantic Ocean, and the weather doesn't change much compared with that in Bordeaux. By 1978, we had our first vintage and, in the mid-90s, we were compared to top estates, which was shocking for the wine world. It put us on the map."

"Picking grapes is like giving birth. When we are about to start, we'll have nearly 50 more staff from 15 countries. Everyone works very hard, but we also party very hard. We sing a lot. It's a celebration of life. It's very important to welcome people. They aren't just working with us, they are experiencing something for 15 days. After that it's depressing because suddenly the house is empty. It is a rhythm."

"I grew up around wine so I felt it would be better to study other things. I have studied in France, Madagascar and Madrid. I worked as a press attaché in Ghana and interned at the Ministry of Defence. I love politics but I'm not good at it. I'm too blunt, too truthful."

"In China, nobody knows what is happening, but there are trends. Wine is more of a gift than something people drink. The drinkers I meet in China are 25 to 60 years old, and the young people in particular are very interested. It is considered a social status to know about wine, it makes you look smart and trendy. Sometimes I don't understand their questions because it's so obvious to me but, for them, it's new."