Today’s blog post will whisk you away to the pristine white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters of Mozambique, where our next wine drinker Christopher Bettany lives.
Christopher’s business portfolio is enviable: a winemaker and hotelier, who’s succeeded in every area he’s turned his attention to. These include Azura, a string of eco-friendly island resorts in the Indian Sea, and Chateau pas de Loup, his winery in the famous Loire valley of France.
The secret to his success? Getting up at 5am to start the working day. But if you don’t fancy that, read on for further insights into his success…
Would you mind introducing yourself in a couple of sentences?
My name is Christopher Bettany. I’m from Jersey and the Channel Islands originally and I’m speaking to you today from Azura, our luxury island in the Bazaruto Archipelago of Mozambique.
Can you describe the moment you decided to make your own wine label?
Growing up in Jersey and the Channel Islands we’re very close to France and so I went to school in the Loire valley. It’s an area that is one of the most important wine producing regions in France and from a young age - I think 13 years old - my parents would give me a glass of wine when we were there. So I think that was what inspired me at that time.
And how about the luxury boutique retreat that you own in Mozambique? Could you tell me a little bit more about it and what brought you to this venture?
When I was in university, I then went to wine college in France and I studied to be a winemaker. I set up the farm then but soon realised I was never going to make my fortune in winemaking so I moved to New York and I went into investment banking for a number of years. And whilst I was doing that, I got involved on the side in developing a hotel in the Seychelles with a group of friends. And I had such good fun doing that I decided I didn’t want to be a banker anymore, I was going to go into the hospitality trade and build my own hotel group. I always felt that Mozambique had the natural beauty to compare with the likes of the Seychelles, Mauritius and the Maldives but didn’t have the quality of product. Our goal was to come here and create some outstanding resorts in the beautiful islands off the coast of Mozambique.
What are the biggest challenges in starting your own boutique retreat company?
I think the most important thing is location, location, location. You have to find the right spot. And a lot of that is research. We always say that you have to be facing west when you’re in Africa. You have to have a gin and tonic and watch the sun go down at the end of the day. And then paperwork is a huge struggle here too. Those very often are some of the biggest challenges in getting projects together.
Do you remember your dream as a teenager?
I wanted to be a pilot, that’s what I had always wanted to do. When I was 17 years old, I went to San Diego in California and did my pilot’s licence there. I’d been flying from a very young age but my passion has always been old Cold War fighter jets. On the farm in France, I have a large collection of fighter jets from the 1950s right through to the 1990s. They guard the entrance to the estate and all the clients that come to enjoy our wine get to admire these old planes in the grounds.
Have you ever drunk wine in one of them?
I haven’t. They’re quite difficult to get into because the canopies are all sealed shut but I love to sit in the grounds and admire them and spend time with them. It’s a great passion of mine.
I would love to know what kind of child you were at school.
I think I was a bit of a naughty child at school. I used to get into a lot of trouble. But I made it through successfully so it can’t have been all bad in the end.
Do you have a daily routine at all?
For the last so many years I’ve lived here in Africa, what I love to do after the sun comes up at about 4.30am is get up just after 5am and go for a 5 km run on the beach. I get back, have a shower and then I start work. At 7.30am I have a team meeting with my executive team and then I start doing my rounds. I go round different areas of the hotels, working with the different teams to see what we need to improve. It’s a pretty exhausting day in this hot climate so I tend to have an early dinner and then I’m in bed generally by about 9pm.
So do you actually believe that part of being successful is waking up early and having this daily routine?
Yes, you have to maximise your time. I’m a strong believe in the 5am club, there’s a book that’s been written about that. That’s my most productive time of the day and it’s when I feel most fresh. It’s also when I feel most inspired and it’s when I can get the most done. So it’s a very important thing for me.
Do you have another hobby?
I love cycling. Cycling is a huge passion of mine and I do a number of races. I do the Cape Town Cycle Tour in South Africa which is the largest timed cycle race in the world. About 30,000-35,000 people do the race every March and it’s 109 km around Cape Town. And then in France in the Loire valley, I go out at about 5.30am and do a lovely 60 km ride around our area. It’s a beautiful way to start the day.
Have you ever tried drinking wine whilst cycling?
No, but I have seen in the Loire they do a thing with vintage bikes and quite a lot of them actually take a bottle of crémant and strap it underneath their frame to enjoy a few glasses while they’re on their route.
If you could choose three places where you would like your wine to be available, where would that be?
My home island of Jersey has a very famous restaurant called Longueville Manor that has been going ever since I was very young. It’s a beautiful, old, very important estate in the Channel Islands. Another one would be a place called L'Auberge du XIIe Siecle which is a three-star Michelin restaurant in Sachet in the Loire valley which is the home of where Balzac, the famous French author, lived. It’s in the grounds of his chateau and it’s one of my favourite restaurants in the whole world. A third place would probably be Soho House in London. It would be a great honour to see it served there as well.
If you could invite anyone to come to one of your resorts to drink some wine, who would they be and why?
I think the one person I would have loved is Roger Moore. He was my great hero ever since I was very young. At my home in Johannesburg, I actually have a large collection of Roger Moore memorabilia including original posters from his movies. Another person would be Ndaba Mandela who is the grandson of Nelson Mandela and who I know has also been enjoying our crémant. He had the opportunity to grow up in the household of Nelson Mandela at a key transitional period in South Africa’s history when Nelson was the first democratically elected president of South Africa. I think to hear a first-hand experience and recollection of those times would be fascinating.
I would love to know your favourite movie.
I enjoy a lot of movies. These days I watch a lot of Netflix and something I’ve just watched is The Queen’s Gambit which is a short series on Netflix about an orphan who becomes an incredibly successful chess player. I found it quite inspirational and a wonderful recollection of what an incredible activity and mind sport that is.
And maybe you have a favourite book as well?
My favourite author is Desmond Bagley who probably not many people would have heard of. He grew up in or lived for many years in South Africa and I love his books. There’s a story called The Golden Keel which is about a group of former army people in the Second World War who found a lot of Nazi gold. They stashed it away and then after the war came back and moulded it into the keel of a ship and sailed to South Africa with their bounty.
We are both drinking some wonderful wine of yours. Could you tell me a little bit more about your crémant?
Our crémant is from the Loire valley and it’s named after my mother, Renee Fouche. The classical blend that we use is a mixture of 60% chenin, 30% chardonnay and 10% cabernet franc. In the ‘methode champenoise’ there’s the first fermentation and then the second fermentation. The wine is then put into the bottle with a small amount of yeast and sugar, which then creates the bubbles in the wine. Then the cap is taken off, the cork is put in and it’s left to mature for 18 months on the lees which just helps add that slight toastiness to the wine and gives it its unique character and flavour.
How about the rest of your wine range?
We also make two other wines. One is our sauvignon blanc which is a still white wine. It has very crisp, light, fresh, beautiful aromas and is perfect for here in Mozambique on a hot sunny day – there’s nothing that beats that. And the other wine is a rose which is a very pale, very fruity, fresh dry rose which is made principally with cabernet franc and a small amount of pineau d’aunis which is a varietal that’s very unique and special to the Loire valley.
What is your next project?
I’m here on Benguerra island at the moment. We’ve been operating this hotel very successfully now for over 10 years and I recently acquired another site on this island which had a hotel that was damaged in a storm some years ago. So I’m busy renovating that property. We’re looking to relaunch it in August 2021. Here the concept is very much the local thatch, which is the traditional Mozambican style. It’s going to have white tin roofs, blue walls on the outside, very light, fresh. It’s going to be a young, funky, vibey destination and I’m really excited about that property joining our portfolio next year.
And you’re going to do a launch party of course.
Absolutely. You’re invited, Sophie.
Thank you, I won’t forget. And it’s on record. You can’t go back on it… To finish off, I would love to know if you have a favourite quote?
A Gandhi quote that’s always resonated with me from a very young age is: “An eye for an eye, we shall soon all be blind”. Mahatma Gandhi was from South Africa, he grew up in Durban and went to school here in South Africa before going to India and kickstarting the Independence system over there. And what it means is you can’t always take retribution for the things that are done against you. Just because somebody does harm to you, doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to do harm to them but to accept, forget and move on and don’t always take things too hard on yourself. There’s a bigger world out there.
Wise words. If you fancy finding out more about Azura you can visit their website here. Alternatively, catch up on my earlier podcast with Ndaba Mandela where we offer our thoughts on Christopher’s crémant.
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