Pauline Collin-Bérêche

To pick up her ancestral story about halfway through, Pauline’s great-grandfather, Roland, founded the Ludes wine cooperative in 1945. His son Louis succeeded him, guiding the coop for more than 20 years until his son, Didier, took the reins. Under Didier’s watch, innovation became the watchword. He implemented integrated viticulture long before it became widely embraced as essential, incorporating climate data and vine health modeling into a tradition of painstaking observation. 

Didier also married Dominique Guillaume, whose name carried weight well beyond Champagne. Her family—the Guillaumes—are legendary pépiniéristes, a dynasty of vine nurserymen who’ve helped shape vineyards across the globe. Their story, which merits multiple chapters in the history of French viticulture, would become integral to this one. As Didier and Dominique brought Pauline and two more daughters into the world, they reduced chemical inputs in the vines and began feeding the soils with bark mulch and cover crops. Biodiversity was allowed to flourish. 

Yet for all the vision and discipline her grandfather and father brought to the enterprise, when Pauline looked out into the vineyards, the figure who arguably stood out the most was one that many others seemed to take for granted: her grandmother. The men of the family may have been out in front, leading the coop and the winegrowers’ syndicate, but consequently the care of the vines fell substantially to her grandmother. Pauline couldn’t shake the feeling that her influence never quite got the appreciation it deserved. “She was always in the shadow, yet doing all the hard work.” 

In a way, the whole family remained in the background, exclusively growing grapes without vinifying wine of their own. By this point, the Guillaume-Collin estate spanned 8.5 hectares planted to Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Chardonnay, along with rare whites like Arbanne and Petit Meslier—varietals the family was careful to preserve. 

Pauline, like her sisters, set out to chart her own path. She attended business school, then spent some time abroad and gained experience at esteemed Champagne houses such as Ruinart and Krug. Yet the pull of home remained strong. Following her marriage to Raphaël Bérêche, she returned to Ludes, joining his rapidly rising domaine, all while raising their children. 

Yet this working mother was decidedly not one to remain in the shadows. And in 2016, with two little ones at home, she made a decisive shift. The time had come, she announced, to not just grow grapes but make a wine off the Guillaume-Collin estate.

She left her salaried nine-to-five and enrolled in a three-year program in Avize to hone the technical craft while drawing deeply on her father’s experience and the wisdom of the longtime domaine team. Pauline’s first cuvée, from the 2016 vintage, was drawn entirely from a small plot of old-vine Pinot Noir. She aged it for 48 months on the lees and finished it with a whisper of dosage. Her mantra was clear from the beginning: One wine, one terroir, one vintage. No more. No less.

Her resolve was tested early. In 2018, Didier fell seriously ill over the summer. With a six-month-old at home and harvest looming, Pauline stepped up. It was a trial by fire—but she managed. She earned her father’s quiet blessing: “My father gave me the reins early,” he told her. “Now I’m doing the same for you.” Though officially retired, Didier remained close, offering guidance with restraint.

In 2019, a vintage that now feels like a breakthrough, she introduced Chardonnay and a touch of Petit Meslier—a rare, aromatic grape that contributes piercing acidity and verticality, even in warm years. “A little goes a long way,” she says. But its lift is essential, offering exotic brightness without compromising purity. This vintage was left without dosage—its natural 3.5 grams of residual sugar offering just enough balance.

Today, Pauline’s barrels rest in the cold Bérêche cellar. She leans on her husband, her family, and a strong wine-growing community. She listens. She shares.

She also reflects on the women who came before her. Her grandmother, who worked the vines while her husband ran the cooperative, remains a guiding presence. But Pauline is determined that her own work won’t go unseen.

Today, she wears the title vigneronne with tranquil self-assurance. It’s no longer something to dream about or grow into, but a role she fully inhabits. Challenging seasons, inevitable mistakes, and long days in the vines have all contributed to a confidence that is palpable in each bottle. The secret seems to lie in having chosen the perfect level of focus—forgoing that masculine propensity to expand and conquer in favor of maintaining a laser-like concentration on a single wine per vintage from land she knows so intimately. Her wines soar precisely because her ambitions are grounded: more time in the vineyard, more time with her children, and better practices for Champagne’s future.