I was born in Pezenas, France on January 21, 1962, where the family of my mother, Jacqueline Blasco Villalonga, has vineyards (Domaine de Montplaisir at Castelnau de Guers).  Thus my cradle was the vineyards of Languedoc, on the terroir of Picpoul Blanc.  My father, Yves Cambie, was born, as my brother, in Marseille.  So I am a child of the Mediterranean basin, my addiction to Grenache is surely due to my origins.

My initial path did not point directly to wine. I first graduated from a technological university (DUT) in the food industry in Montpellier, and then entered the ENSIA (The French “grand école” for the food industries).

During these studies I gained a thorough knowledge of microbiology in areas that are very similar to what happens in the winemaking process.  Not quite satisfied with my studies, I decided to change direction and I went to Montpellier to complete a Degree in Oenology (1986).

I then went on to have a rich array of experiences in the wine business:  director of bottling in the Vaucluse;  wine trader in Bordeaux and northern France;  Sales Manager in the south of France;  and Production Manager in the Roussillon.  In 1998 I began a consulting business in the ICV GROUP / VVS Rhone Valley, where I am still an employee.  At the time we were just two oenologists.  Today the ICV Group / VVS Rhone Valley counts seven consulting oenologists.

In the year 2000 the ICV Rhone laboratory moved to Beaumes de Venise with a capacity of 1000 anaylses per day.  In that same year it became the Advisory Council for the SCAS (Laboratory of the Federation of Wines of Châteauneuf du Pape).  My involvement on the advisory board is new, but as in everything I do, I have become thoroughly invested (this may be because of my rugby past which taught me abnegation, and the quest for results).