Interview with Mr Antoine Clasen, Director General of the Bernard-Massard group in Luxembourg

Understandably, the history of your family’s business in wine has been quite fascinating. Please let us know about it…

Yes, this has been a family business for us since 1921, so we’ve been in this for around a hundred years. It was created by Jean Bernard, an oenologist from Luxembourg who went to work in Champagne (France), one of the most prestigious wine areas in the world. During the First World War he decided to return to Luxembourg. Many Luxembourgers have done this type of a thing, i.e. gone to Champagne to work. We go out for a few years, we learn, and then we bring our knowhow back to Luxembourg. Exactly what Jean Bernard did—he learnt how to make champagne, and then he came back to Luxembourg to apply his knowledge. He was convinced that the land along the Moselle river had great wine-making potential: 42 km of perfectly exposed coastal terrain between Schengen and Wasserbillig.