BERNARD AND BLANDINE PERRIN: AN OPIMIAN LEGACY

Bernard & Blandine Perrin have been Opimian stalwarts for over 20 years. This year, we say goodbye to them as they retire and are succeeded by Tanguy Chevalier, who will continue their legacy. Blandine and Bernard tell us all about their Opimian adventure.

 

 

“It all began in the early 90s, when Bernard, who comes from a family of winegrowers dating back to the 16th century, took over from his father and uncle at Domaine de Milhomme, where his elder brother Robert was already present. Bernard was in charge of the winemaking and sales side of the estate. He had the great good fortune to meet Kenneth Christie MW, one of the founders of the Opimian Wine Club and a renowned Master of Wine.

 

 

It was a very fortuitous meeting for us. Ken was looking for Beaujolais winemakers with small estates, which we were. Solid bonds were quickly established, based on trust and respect…which was also our way of thinking!

 

From the outset, each of the estates that Bernard had brought together for Ken sent wine independently to Canada, but it was all very logistically complicated for Opimian to manage. Bernard’s nephew Manuel was 21 and wanted to come back and work on the Milhomme estate, so Bernard let him take over.

 

Opimian gave Bernard many ideas, one of them being that of bringing together all these small estates and managing the export at once, to reduce the administrative issues…so he created our company, SARL Bernard PERRIN, with this pioneering concept of seeking out talented winegrowers, initially from the Beaujolais region, and taking care of exporting them to Canada and other countries on their behalf.

 

 

 

We subsequently expanded to other wine-growing regions, always keeping in mind the small winemaker philosophy with great stories to tell.
We’ve forged incredible bonds with them too. Our winemaking soul drew us to them like a magnet. We tried to convey the spirit of Opimian to all these winemakers and to explain to them the particulars of this wine club like no other.

 

 

Opimian is really the basis of our company’s concept.

 

And so, since 2002, we’ve been hard at work for Opimian, finding small estates with exceptional winemaking stories, rare wines that only Opimian members have the exclusivity and opportunity to order.
In May 2011, we had the great pleasure of attending a conference for Opimian in the Yukon, our first steps on Canadian soil. We met Canadians with a passion for wine, who showed us around Northern Canada, the Arctic Circle and bears (even a grizzly bear!)

 

 

We were also delighted to welcome many Opimian members to our home, where they enjoyed a meal and a glass of wine. Warm, unforgettable moments.

 

 

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all Opimian members. You’ve changed our lives, and been an integral part of it.

 

Leaving you is an emotional moment for both of us, but also a joyful one, as we have been preparing our departure with Tanguy Chevalier for several years.

 

Tanguy also comes from a Beaujolais winegrowing family and has been working with us for 15 years. His philosophy is similar to ours, and he’s delighted to be taking on our work concept. He will be supported by Anaïs Crozet from Domaine de Croifolie, whom you know for her delicious Beaujolais Villages wines. It’s going to be a great team that will continue our work at Opimian.”  – Blandine Perrin.