L’équipe
Know-how or “savoir-faire” is good but the passion is essential in creating and distilling unique Spirits. Discover who is behind every single Spirits that are created, distilled and marketed.
Sarah Vilain
Sales
A strategic function of the Distillery is managed by Sarah who joined the structure in 2022.
Sarah’s mission is sales development. She therefore goes out to meet existing customers but also develops the number of partners of the Distillery.
The Distillery’s marketing or sales approach is based on curiosity, meeting and of course tasting with the various establishments with which we work and which trust us. Listening to consumers and customers, more than a concept, is one of our essential values.
Sarah has all these qualities… and many more!
Benjamin Lemaire
Managing Partner + Master Distiller
How do you move from the Paris National Opera House to distilling in Burgundy? Those to might sound as they are worlds appart yet they are really close because of the passion you need for both of them. A passion for harmony, for things that are well composed without striking a sour note.
The passion for music pairs beautifully well with the passion for amazing wines and spirits. After playing his scales at the Opéra national de Paris Benjamin trained as a winemaker to maybe one day produce wine.
Well what he did was about wine but on the tourism and training side of things welcoming tasters and renowned companies on the look out for a new approach to train their staff and build team cohesion. The will to produce was still there and a dicussion (and maybe a tasting) on one oof the events he called Arnaud for help with lays one of the first stones of what is now the Valour+Lemaire Distillery.
Arnaud Valour
Managing Partner + Master Distiller
Take a pinch of Studies in the UK, a dash of consulting for industrial companies, 6 grams of communication and defense of the Wines of Chablis and from the Grand Auxerrois, 10 cl training and consulting in companies, schools and universities, shake it with a wine bar, bistro, wine shop in the heart of Chablis and you will get a pretty safe base on who Arnaud is.
Starting there only makes evolving towards creating and distilling Spirits something obvious. That being said shaping what is now Valour+Lemaire took a few years in Arnaud’s mind but that is the cost of finding the right model, the right still and the right business partner. So training as a Distiller, not alone as it was planned but with Benjamin certainly helped.
What was a training session amongst the best distillers, where Gin was born only made the partnership even more obvious. As obvious as making premium and bespoke Spirits, using technology and a down to earth approach to make sur customers and Spirits shine. It has been part of Arnaud’s DNA through his career and it shall still shine in each bottle.
Come and meet us
How about you come and taste, maybe blend your own bottle or even distil your very own Gin?
