Master Winemaker 100: Odilon de Varine
The chef de cave at Champagne Gosset features in this year’s Master Winemaker 100 guide. He tells db about the impossibility of following a recipe, drinking Champagne at all hours and restoring his classic cars.
Wine has always been a family affair for Odilon de Varine. His mother was a winemaker in Burgundy; his father managed vineyards for a renowned Champagne house. After completing his National Diploma in Oenology at the University of Reims, de Varine began his career at Dopff & Irion in Alsace, before returning home in 1991 to become cellar master at Champagne Deutz. Following a three-year stint as technical director of Champagne Henriot, de Varine joined Champagne Gosset in 2006 to work alongside his predecessor, Jean-Pierre Mareigner, whose philosophy he now continues. Married with six children, de Varine spends any spare time indulging his passions for rugby, restaurants and classic car racing.
A wise person once told me: “A lion that imitates a lion becomes a monkey.” It goes back to my college days. A professor said to me: “Be yourself,” quoting this well-known phrase.
A great wine should help to share time, connecting people. Wine is made to be shared.
A great winemaker should know that no year is the same as another, so he must be able to adapt and therefore never use a recipe.
Perfection is not of this world.
The thing I’d most like to change about the wine world is the fact that we often forget to talk about fun and sharing, often being too technical, which makes wine a drink of specialists, and makes us forget conviviality.
I wish I could tell the consumer who drinks my wine that Champagne is the only beverage – other than water – that you can drink 24 hours a day.
The last time I asked a sommelier for advice was the last time I went to a restaurant. I asked the sommelier for a white wine to pair with some red meat, which was my desire, and of course a challenge. She recommended a white wine from Provence: the pairing was stunning, a real success.
Partner Content
If I couldn’t be a winemaker, I’d probably be a doctor – I had started medicine studies – or a musician, but I don’t have the talent for it!
I wish our vineyards would adapt to climate change in order to preserve minerality and freshness.
My next ambition is to transmit what I’ve learned to Pierre [de Caffarelli, who joined Maison Gosset last July as oenology manager], and then for the Champagne Gosset style to be continued.
If I won the lottery, I would probably build schools for children who do not have the chance to access education.
If there were more hours in the day, it would allow me to rest and maybe restore my cars.
When it’s all going wrong, Champagne is the only medicine.
My desert island wine would be Champagne, of course, to celebrate each day. I would go for a non-vintage blend, because its multifaceted personality would pair with the widest diversity of dishes.
Odilon de Varine’s Master medals
Gosset Celebris 2012 (The Champagne Masters 2025)
Related news
Trump threatens new 100% tariff on French wine
Sustainability in Drinks announces keynote speaker for 2026 edition
