Frédéric Michel, editing by Loane Nader // photo credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images North America / Getty Images via AFP 10:16 a.m., May 18, 2023

This Thursday, the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival welcomes film legend Harrison Ford on its red carpet, to present the fifth adventure of Indiana Jones. The film is co-produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who will surely be part of the party, especially since he owns a wine estate in the Var that Europe 1 had the chance to visit.

On Tuesday, the Cannes Film Festival opened its 76th edition under the southern sun. Star Wars fans may be able to meet their favorite actors and directors as Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas will be present for the screening of the fifth installment of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. And if George Lucas is invited to walk the red carpet, he is also taken by the management of his Var wine estate. Europe 1 went to discover it during a private visit, without its owner but in the company of the director of Château Margüi, Yann Jouët.

The latter salutes the investment of the famous American director, who has given a second life to agricultural land. "Since 2017, with the takeovers of Skywalker Vineyards, it's been a kind of renaissance with the restructuring of the vineyard and buildings." It is still necessary to plan a large budget if you want to live there for the holidays. Count a little more than 140,000 euros per week to occupy the estate of 121 hectares and its 18 luxury suites with "its vineyards as far as the eye can see, cedars, holm oaks, cypresses ..."

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One watchword: quality

As for the wines, which are exported all over the world, they are still more accessible, with about twenty euros for whites and rosés, and exactly 42 euros for the Bastide cuvée in red. Nearly 50% of the farm is exported abroad, including 20% to the United States, which is now the leading market for rosé wines from Provence. The great George Lucas also has the chance to benefit from the services of the Neapolitan chef Marco Casolla, based in Toulon. "It's a very simple field, without being ambitious in the image and very discreet. And that's what I aspire to in my kitchen."

A single watchword therefore prevails at Château Margüi: quality. "It's a completely limited production. By 2027, when we will have about 23 hectares, it will be 200,000 bottles maximum," anticipates Yann Jouët, the director of the estate, whose name means "little pond" in Old Provençal.