Madivin, the best-selling bottle

The Lyon Tribune 23 Dec 2021 DAVID GOSSART

Thomas Gautier set up Madivin, associated with his father.

I love winegrowing, and it’s an environment where I meet so many people. And every time I left a winery, I thought it was a shame that the winegrowers themselves were not more identified! Thomas Gautier left his job at Danone, joined forces with his father and launched Madivin in Lyon in February, a brand incubated at emlyon whose vocation is to promote “pretty vintages, in pretty places, wines with good “drinkability”, not too astringent nor too complex, for bottles of 10 to 12 euros, and from intermediate estates, between 10 and 250 ha”.

The principle: create a special vintage for Madivin with the winemaker and bottles with a recognizable design – the winemaker’s face accompanied by easy-to-remember keywords; a QR code that gives access to the history of the place, the person… The brand is superimposed on the domain. “In any case, 76% of people say that the appellation is not a decisive criterion. Madivin will therefore serve as a trusted third party for the consumer, and wants to value the work of the professional. We buy between 15 and 20% above the bulk price. And with a connected collar system, we can follow the path of purchase of the bottles, and share data and commission with the restaurant owner who sells the bottles.

With five wines created, 90 points of sale and a growing number of hectoliters sold, Madivin is heading for a first year with 100,000 euros in sales, and a 76% buyout rate. “Within two years, we would like to reach ten wines and increase the volume with each winemaker.”