Hi, I’m Ian, the winemaker here at Chateau Shuette. I’ve loved food all my life. My earliest memories are of stealing freshly podded peas from my father’s dinner plate and sitting on our kitchen countertop licking a paddle covered in batter from the cake my mum was making.
In my teenage years, my grandparents would come back from a long holiday with a bottle of the local wine and a folder full of pictures. We would sit around the table and talk about the amazing experiences they had whilst sharing (a little) of that wine. From that moment on I knew I wanted to travel and taste more of what made each place unique and special.
Not much later, I started working as a chef on the weekends and then eventually after studying Biomedical science at university I took a job at The Ritz in London. Working at this Michelin star restaurant gave me an even deeper understanding of what quality really was and how great chefs source the best ingredients and let them shine.
I loved the experience, but not the pay… or if I’m honest, the hours. Eventually, a friend working in the media asked me “Why don’t you take people out for lunch, rather than cook it”. This seemed like a good idea, and I made the change.
Despite stopping professional cooking, my love for food and drink only grew and I decided to move to London Bridge to overlook Borough Market. A place where small, quality farmers would sell their produce. It was also conveniently close to Bermondsey Street which housed many more amazing producers and bars like 40 Maltby St. The place where I first tried Natural wine.
From that point onwards I stopped going to supermarkets and became properly obsessed with finding pure, quality, raw ingredients. I chose to buy less but at the best quality and to make the things I wanted, but could not find (like free range, sulphite free, organic charcuterie) at home.
Shu is just as obsessed as I am. Her Malaysian Chinese food culture goes deep. When I first got to know Shu, she would often send me photos from some random food based pilgrimage she was currently engaged in. Whether it was from the top of a mountain with particularly good black beer or from a Southeast Asian island for a local version of a particularly pungent noodle dish. Now we go on food adventures together.
I think that her experience growing up in different countries gave her an infectious spirit of discovery and empathy for people. In turn, this created a deep appreciation for artisans and the traditions behind them.
As you can see. It was a relatively short, hop (to Hong Kong), Skip (to Singapore) and then jump to buying a Chateau in Bordeaux with Shu.
We bought the Shuette in December 2022 and were married in October 2023 (shortly after the conclusion of our first harvest). Seemingly we wanted to stress test our relationship with arranging a marriage, a change of job, a change of country, two house moves and the launch of a new business, all in one year.
It has been absolutely worth it.
Shuette is the realisation of our passion. A business that will allow us to share what we love with as many people as possible. Making it easier for those who care about seasonal, organic, high quality produce to enjoy it.
As I write this, we are 6 weeks away from the 2024 harvest and the end of our second season. We could not be more excited to share this story and our wines with you. We hope you will love them.
Ian.
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