Francis and Sandrine Ingrand discover together a new profession around the vine and the wine. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO
Francis et Sandrine Ingrand dans le caveau de dégustation de Château Capion. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO
The couple was looking for “a family project”. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO
Francis and Sandrine Ingrand bought Château Capion in the fall of 2023. The couple recounts their love at first sight for this wine estate located in Aniane.
It's a success story like we would like to write more often. Château Capion, in Aniane, changed owners at the end of 2023. Francis and Sandrine Ingrand, unknown in the wine industry, took over the reins of the estate, neighboring Daumas Gassac, from the wealthy Russian businessman Oleg Chirkunov.
Founder of Plug in Digital, a flagship of video games, Francis Ingrand was not really destined to don the costume of a winemaker. His wife, a sophrologist after having worked in the events industry, is not totally unfamiliar with it: her father and grandfather were wine merchants in the Paris region. “Before, there were bottles in Paris, then we discovered the vines…” A year ago, the couple started looking for a “family project to prepare for the future after Plug In Digital. We visited about fifteen estates and when we discovered Capion, we found this extraordinary place.”
A 50 ha organic vineyard
Once the transaction was completed, they now owned a 50-hectare vineyard in one piece. But also a superb château and its French garden. The building, built in 1636 and then transformed into a winegrower's folly, stands at the end of a centuries-old avenue of plane trees. Birds flutter from the Siberian elm to the blue cedar before disappearing into the vines. Biodiversity has flourished especially since the vineyard switched to organic farming in 2020.
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The couple's goal is twofold: “Ensure a dual activity between wine and events”. Francis and Sandrine can rely on a well-established team in the cellar and in the vineyard. They are recruiting for the marketing and sales side: “There is know-how but not to let people know”. The soil, made up of clay-limestone, rolled pebbles and silty sand on the edge of the Gassac, is used to exhale the terroir. The vineyard, made up of 19 different varietals, offers a wide variety of blending possibilities. The white is vinified in AOP Languedoc, the red in Terrasses du Larzac, the two single varietals in IGP Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert.
Eleven vintages in the three colors and a sparkling wine
Both “love the wines of Terrasses du Larzac but we don't necessarily have the same tastes”, says Sandrine. They are thinking about developing the range, which includes eleven vintages, but gently. Accustomed to flights between Paris, Shanghai and Montpellier, Francis Ingrand appreciates reconnecting “with the long term, the return to the land and to nature”.This does not prevent him from taking a few samples with him to have his wines tasted abroad. Including the latest “Fizz”, sparkling wine made from clairette, ideal for parties.
Weddings, birthdays, seminars
The couple also intends to host wedding parties, birthdays and other corporate events in Capion. The consecrated chapel allows you to get married in due form. The dovecote, already converted into a gîte, encourages them to develop accommodation. The couple, who intend to schedule château aperitifs in the summer, are not lacking in imagination. Capion begins its metamorphosis…
How Plug In Digital became a must-have in the world of video games
A video game enthusiast, Francis Ingrand founded Plug in digital in l'Haÿ-les-Roses in 2011. This company, specializing in the publishing and digital distribution of video games, on PC, consoles and mobile, has been based in Montpellier since 2015. The premises of the Marché du Lez quickly became too cramped for the company in full development. It then moved to Boulevard Berthelot.
The company initially supports studios and publishers in adapting their games to different international platforms. In addition to an office in Paris, another one is opened in Shanghai. In addition to distribution, Plug in Digital publishes independent games with its two labels PID Games and Dear Villagers: The Forgotten City (2021), Le Donjon de Naheulbeuk : L'Amulette du Désordre (2020), Foretales (2022).
In 2021, Plug in Digital carried out the second largest fundraising in Occitanie for an amount of 70 M€. Francis Ingrand sells part of his shares to an Anglo-Saxon fund Bridge Point Capital but remains at the head of the company.
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