Bien Public, photo and text by Marie Protet

Thierry Ragueneau already knows Beaune and its region well. He was inducted into the Belnus brotherhood last year, and has become a close friend of the CFDB. In fact, it was its president, Laurent Gauthier, who put him in touch with the Veuve Ambal in Montagny-lès-Beaune for his forthcoming play Bon Anniversaire mon amour. The former Plus belle la vie actor, also known for his work on stage and for dubbing the voice of Simon Baker in The Mentalist, visited the Veuve Ambal site and met François Piffaut, head of communications and wine tourism, on Friday morning.

“It’s a comedy about a couple celebrating their fifteenth wedding anniversary. Things don’t go as planned, and the audience discovers a story about a couple that’s very much like them. I wrote this play with Corinne Hyafil. The idea came to us three years ago, and we worked and reworked the text to come up with something as close to people as possible. It’s a show for lovers,” he confides.

But what does this have to do with Crémants de Bourgogne? “Every evening, a bottle of Veuve Ambal, one of the play’s focal points, will appear on stage. We’ll also be offering tastings of these wines at the after-show party,” he continues.

This bottle will be a prestige cuvée from Veuve Ambal, which will be on stage in Avignon from July 8. “And why not, soon, in a venue in Beaune during the tour!” concluded Laurent Gauthier.