Guiding the innovative charge at Sababay Winery is Guillaume Quéron, a winemaker with deep roots in Bordeaux.
Trained under the legendary Jean-Luc Thunevin, Guillaume joined Sababay in 2022, bringing his expertise to Bali.
Bali’s tropical climate and fertile volcanic soil offer unique challenges and opportunities for grape cultivation. Guillaume has embraced these conditions, fostering sustainable practices and supporting local agriculture. Under his guidance, Sababay produces Alphonse-Lavallée, Muscat, Shiraz, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, showcasing that Indonesia can indeed yield world-class wines. His innovative techniques have transformed Sababay into a sustainable powerhouse, earning prestigious medals at the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2024.
Guillaume Quéron’s vision for Sababay is clear: to elevate the winery to an internationally recognised brand that epitomises the best of Indonesian winemaking. His passion for quality, innovation, and sustainability not only propels Sababay forward but also places Indonesian wine on the global map. Join Indonesia Expat as we explore Guillaume’s journey and the bright future he envisions for Sababay Winery.
Hello, Guillaume. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’ve been in charge of the wine and spirit making at Sababay for two years now. Long before that, I actually came from a winemaker’s family. My grandparents worked in their own vineyard and my parents were also into winemaking. So you can say I grew up in that environment.
When my grandfather passed away, I realised that I had to be a part of this history. So I studied winemaking and once I graduated, I started making my own wine. At this moment I was very interested in the garage wine movement. I went and knocked on the door of the famous Jean-Luc Thunevin, known for inventing the “Garage Wine”. I asked him for some advice and he very gently guided me and invited me to meet some of the most famous winemakers in the world.
During that time in 1998 Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, there was a large amount of attraction from around the world because of the garage wine movement. Everybody would come to meet Jean-Luc Thunevin because they were fascinated by what was going on there. So I was part of this movement, I made my wine, I worked with Jean-Luc Thunevin, and for him afterwards where we achieved a lot of success very very quickly.
What inspired you to transition from Bordeaux to Bali?
I have actually been very interested in Bali because I had visited there a few times prior where I built a villa in Canggu during COVID. So I was already planning to do something in Bali, I just didn’t know what. The funny thing is that I got this opportunity to work for Sababay when I came back from Bali.
When I was back in France, I wasn’t really happy with my work at the time because the influence that the garage wine movement had before was decreasing significantly. I was working for some people and I was not really comfortable with their way of navigating the winemaking business. So I did a little research on Sababay and was very impressed by the success they had already achieved for such a young winery in Bali, which I find unusual. I decided to take the step, and what a blessed decision that was because right now I feel very comfortable as I’ve been enjoying life in Bali as well as my job.
When I was 25 and making my own wine, I often said, “there’s something growing.” And with Sababay, I believe we are making history in the Indonesian wine industry. So what we are doing here is writing new pages and making history in Bali, and that is the element that inspired me.
Tell us about Sababay Winery.
Sababay is a very young winery; very, very dynamic. It’s not the kind of winery that you can find even in Europe, where things are more settled and formal.
The creativity in Europe or in most vineyards is really restricted due to the laws and the appellation systems that only allow you to make certain kinds of wine. Everybody in the same area is supposed to make the same wines, with the same varieties, and the same methods. So I became very interested in the creativity we can explore here in Sababay because there is more freedom to do what we want, to make it in a different way.
How has your background in Bordeaux influenced your approach to winemaking here at Sababay?
Well, I had to adapt myself first; to the winery, the people, the grapes, the customers, and to the Indonesian taste. It was a big change in the world spectrum of my work. But what I find very exciting is that you are not supposed to make a Bordeaux wine here. Actually, even when I was in Bordeaux I wasn’t trying to make Bordeaux wine.
I always try to get influence from all over the world because of my history, quite like the garage wine movement. So when I make Indonesian wine, I have to adjust to the Indonesian taste; I refuse to make it too similar to how I did when I was in Bordeaux. This is because Sababay has a very strong identity, and the work that has been done before I arrived was already great, so it was super easy to work on these next steps. You have to keep the identity of the wines, whilst trying to improve what was done before and what is supposed to be done after.
Congratulations on Sababay Winery’s bronze medal win in the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2024! What do these awards mean for Sababay and for the perception of Indonesian wines on the global stage?
Thank you, that was a really important feat. We have gotten several awards before, but this specific one puts us on the same level as some very famous, high-end wine brands worldwide. There were around 4,000 different wines in this competition and only half of them were rewarded with medals. That being said, bronze is truly an honorific position and I’m really proud of that because this is the opportunity for us to show the Indonesian people that they can take pride in the production we are making, they can be proud of their wine.
Sababay’s newest creation, Sababay SANGRIA, is a bold and refreshing flavour blend of tropical fruits and exotic spices. What was the inspiration behind creating this product?
The idea behind the Sababay SANGRIA is to make a wine-based drink that is more accessible to the public, for every kind of palate; not only Indonesians, not only foreigners. It’s a wine that you can approach without thinking, it’s just this instant pleasure that you can enjoy at the beach, by the pool, or simply with friends. We removed the intellectual part of the wine-tasting aspect, we want it to be super pleasurable. It’s a great drink for friends to share and enjoy.
Are there any upcoming ventures that wine enthusiasts can look forward to from Sababay?
There are many actually, though I cannot tell you all of them, unfortunately. But I want to say that every one of our existing wines today is slightly changed with each release because we try to improve every wine we produce. Every new batch is an improvement of the previous one. So expect some improvement, always.
One very important one is that we’ve decreased the sulfite content in all of our wines. Because we are in a tropical place, sometimes wine can cause a headache. Some people don’t handle sulfites very well, so I worked on that a lot. Now we use significantly lower levels, the lowest possible. We also work every day to find new, more fresh, more flavourful, and more fruity tastes. Innovating every wine we make, each time more enjoyable.
After the SANGRIA, our next improvement will be with our sparkling wine portfolio, where we aim to elevate your experience with a new range of vibrant, effervescent options that capture the essence of celebration in every sip. Stay tuned for what’s bubbling up next!
How can our readers get in touch?
You can find more information about Sababay by visiting our Instagram @sababaywinery or contacting us through our email at mailto: info@sababaywinery.com.