Hello My Humans Beings.
In October 2025, I closed my wine boutique in Paris, just over a year after opening it in July 2024.
It was one of the hardest professional decisions I’ve made, and also one of the most clarifying.
This isn’t a story about blame.It’s a story about clarity.
During 2024–2025, I learned a lesson that goes far beyond business: the difference between sharing a vision and sharing the effort required to build it.
From the beginning, I was clear that the boutique needed a strong B2B foundation. Selling bottle by bottle alone was never going to be sustainable. The business partner who joined at the start was expected to contribute remotely and support that development. In reality, that involvement never materialized, not even a single sales canvas or catalogue was completed.
I remember receiving a message that said:
“I earn minimum salary in a supermarket, and I can’t dedicate one or two hours per day — or even per week — to the shop.”
This came from someone without children, fully aware that I was in Paris alone with my kids, carrying the boutique, the risk, and the daily operations entirely on my own.
At the same time, I wasn’t earning anything close to a minimum salary. To keep going, I rented out my own apartment on weekends and stayed with friends, with my children, simply to cover rent.
I’m not sharing this for sympathy.I’m sharing it because real leadership is often invisible, and experience is forged when accountability is not evenly shared.
Closing the boutique didn’t break me.It refined my standards.
It confirmed something I already knew: the right team is not optional if you want to build something sustainable and grow to the next level.
That clarity is also why I’m still on this path. More than ever, I believe that B2B is the key to long-term growth in the wine and hospitality industry. Today, I’m building with the right people focused on helping producers export their wines into new markets. We are currently active in the United States and Panama, and developing opportunities in India.
Paris is still where I choose to be.One closed door does not define me.And it does not stop me from believing in aligned partnerships, international growth, and what comes next.
It will be cool to see some of you at Wine Paris in February 2026, and I look forward to meaningful conversations around export, alignment, and sustainable growth.
Santé for life, even when it’s messy!