Éric Bettant is the lucky owner of the Domaine Albert in Pommiers, a village in the “golden stone” area of the Beaujolais, situated to the north of Lyon. The estate covers an area of 20 hectares, 50% of which is given over to vines. It also has woodland plus an impressive collection of centuries-old outbuildings that, like all of the properties in the area, house the old fermentation equipment. “I think that it all dates back to the Revolution and although our main activity remains Beaujolais wine production, it’s because of the outbuildings that I decided to develop our business tourism potential,” recalls Éric Bettant. “The “cuvage” can be used for private functions as well as for seminars and other work sessions during the week. It has capacity for 50 to 200 people for conferences, meetings, meals and cocktail parties. We recently added a second “cuvage”, this time more modern, which has a function room and bar area for 40 people. It overlooks the fermentation vats and can be used for meetings too. We’ve also renovated a third room in a golden stone barn, which has a fireplace and looks out over a terrace and the vines. This one has capacity for 40 to 50 people for a sit-down meal and I’ve also opened a shop that sells our wines”.
The Domaine Albert’s proximity to major centres like Lyon and Villefrance-sur-Saône make it popular with companies wanting to combine their work sessions with something recreational, such as the discovery of Beaujolais wines, wine making, cookery courses, a tree-top trail in the estate’s woodland, discovery rallies or treasure hunts. All can be arranged within the grounds of the estate, which makes it a real bonus.
“We seem to be getting more and more requests from event organisers,” notes the venue’s owner. “Our event business is growing and we have at least 20 fully booked days over the year”. Agencies such as Esprit libre (Cercié), Roadbook (Curis-au-Mont d’Or), French Flair (Villefranche-sur-Saône), Innatendù (Lyon) and Promenades en France (Beaune) are the principal users. Éric Bettant relies on local caterers or restaurants for the food side of things. When it comes to accommodation, the property only has three guest rooms and three gites, so he recommends various hotels in Villefranche, which is just 5 km away from the estate.
Room hire starts at 360 € for up to 20 people, reaching 2500 € for a group of about 200. The package including welcome coffee, refreshment breaks, estate tour and wine tasting costs 18 € per participant.
04 74 65 12 67
