i. Biography
From Bordeaux to Château de Berne in Fargues, France, Alexis Cornu’s work has narrowed toward a single discipline: Provence rosé. At the estate, where light, timing and restraint carry as much weight as technique, Cornu serves as winemaker and oenologist, with a career that has also included the Head Winemaker title and collaborations that helped move vineyard decisions into named cuvées. The line through the work is steady rather than dramatic: place, palate and purpose brought into alignment.
The Path
At Château de Berne, oenology means stewardship of detail as much as production. Alexis Cornu holds that role today, and the job begins well before a bottle is opened. In a region where rosé can look easy, the craft sits in the discipline: reading the season, interpreting the vines, and carrying the estate’s character into the glass.
The Work Today
As winemaker and oenologist at the château, Cornu works in a specialty that leaves little room for loose decisions. Provence rosé shows technical choices quickly: the line between pale color and bruised hue, between freshness and fatigue, is narrow. His task is to keep that line clear. The method is built on adjustment to what nature, the vines and the tanks are giving. Cornu works from observation first. Analysis identifies which plots have done best; tasting and blending then determine how those parcels are assembled. At the estate, grapes are harvested in the middle of the night to control color and limit oxidation, a practical measure that fits the delicacy of the style.
Signature
Alexis's signature wines include Maison No. 9. The name gives the work a public face, but the style behind it remains rooted in the same careful calculations that define his daily practice at Château de Berne: measured extraction, attentive selection, and a disciplined approach to assembly.
In Their Words “Right now the 2017 harvest ends, I therefore focus essentially on the analysis of the vines to select the most successful plots.” “And then after there will be time for the tasting of wine and assembly.”
Acclaim
The bottles extend the work beyond the estate. A new rosé cuvée was created with Cornu’s help, carrying his technical input into a named release. In 2020, Maison No. 9 rosé added another marker: a Provence rosé collaboration for which Cornu handled the winemaking. The sequence is the same one he described in 2017: read the vines, choose the plots, taste, assemble. That is where his reputation sits—less in display than in exactness, and in the repeated making of rosé at Château de Berne.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Alexis
What is Alexis Cornu's current role?
As of 2026, Alexis Cornu is Winemaker.
What is Alexis Cornu known for?
Provence rosé wines.
