Antoine Kaufmann
The passionate winemaker
Antoine grew up in the town of Biel-Benken, near Aesch. After his apprenticeship years in Neuchâtel and Sion, he had the urge to go to the South and farther abroad to widen his “wine horizon”.
Antoine travelled and worked in wine growing areas like Veneto in Italy, at Napa Valley in the U.S.A., at Haut-Médoc in France and in Victoria, Australia amassing wine making and viticulture knowledge along the way.
At the beginning of the 90s he earned his Degree in Oenology and Viticulture at the Polytechnic of Changins in Switzerland. He eventually moved to Provence which was his home for 20 years working as head of the Delinat Group’s organic winery, the Chateau Duvivier. During this time, he and his wife Irene rebuilt a previously neglected vineyard in Cotignac and gave it a second lease in life.
In 2014 new challenges were tugging and Antoine heeded the call. Many options were open but tackling a new start in his provenance had the strongest appeal. After 32 years of winemaking experience he is now back in his hometown.
Irene Kaufmann
Irene grew up in Ipoh, Malaysia. The idea of discovering the world tickled her thoughts at a very young age and to follow up on this dream she eventually worked as a stewardess for Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific travelling the world for 8 years.
She then worked as an assistant securities trader in Hong Kong and in this melting pot of culture she became a wine connoisseur.
Eager to broaden her horizon in wines, she attended the renowned Sommelier training in the Rhône Valley at the Université du Vin in Suze-la-Rousse in 1997 where she met her husband, Antoine Kaufmann.
The two well-travelled individuals from two different continents made their home in a paradise-like but remote corner of Provence.
After 18 years in the beautiful Provence, Irene is happy to immerse herself in a new culture. Having lived in two continents that moulded her rich sense of the orient and the west, she naturally brings with her this unique style to KLUS 177, her new home.
She looks forward to welcoming you at the Klus with her very elementary Hochdeutsch, but fluent Cantonese, English and French.
Lukas Vögele
winemaker
Lukas Vögele was born in Bad Boll near Stuttgart in Germany. He grew up in a most natural backdrop in the midst of the sprawling Schwäbisch Mountain Ranges and its spring water.
Upon completing his Abitur, he worked at Wiengut Wittman. Here he encountered quality wine for the first time which solidified his interest in good organic wine and its industry.
He subsequently moved to sunny Provence where he met Antoine and Irene Kaufmann at Chateau Duvivier. After a six-month stint in Sales and Wine Tastings at Bernd Kreis in Stuttgart he began to study Viticulture and Oenology in Geisenheim.
During his studies he would disappear for weeks on end every year in the cellar of the highly esteemed Olivier Pithon in the small town of Calce in Roussillon, in the sunny south of France. Calce is the French stronghold of Biodynamic Viticulture.
In 2016 after completing his studies in Geisenheim he worked for half a year in the Austrian Langenlois with Stefanie and Alwin Jurtschitsch, until he received a call from Thomas Teibert from Calce to work at the Domaine de l'Horizon.
In April 2018, he happily took up the offer of his old acquaintance Antoine Kaufmann.
Though a light traveller, Lukas brings along all his Bio-dynamic’s experience, determination, motivation and passion for the nature to make the finest wines at KLUS 177.
Nicole Stettler
Events
Passion is the fuel for successfull events
Nicoles enthusiasm for organizing events has kept her busy for decades.
Since 2006 she's been running her own event agency (NIC-EVENT GmbH). As an organizer of events, especially in the health sector for pharmaceutical companies, she's very familiar with organizing national and international events of all kinds. This includes company events, general assemblies, birthday dinners, weddings, etc., which Nicole have been able to successfully manage from A-Z with her experience as an event project manager.
All the more it gives Nicole a great pleasure to welcome you to the Klus 177 Winery. An unforgettable place, run with great devotion by the owners Irene and Antoine Kaufmann.
"Your success is our challenge. A challenge we accept with passion to make your event special. Convincing. Inspiring. Unforgettable."
Emanuel Marsicovetere and Emma
our apprentice and his dog in training
Emanuel has always love working in the nature since he was a kid and dreamt of being a farmer. But destiny had another plan for him and lead him to the field of IT, where he thrives as a software developer. However, after 10 years of toiling in front of the computer screen, stretching his brain to the max with no physical movement, it all became unfulfilling.
And so, he decided to follow his passion and enrolled himself for a second formation, to be a winemaker! Though, he knows it would be quite a challenge to undertake an apprenticeship alongside with his IT job, he needed this challenge with a positive stride.
He truly enjoys working in the vineyard and cellar of Klus 177, especially with their biodynamic values. Working with the beautiful nature, always taking sustainability into account and at the same time making great wines, is all so motivating to get up and show up each morning!
Laura Müller
our apprentice
Laura grew up with a view of the vineyards and was always curious about all the activities going around there. Back then, it never came across her mind that one day she would be standing among the vines herself.
After an initial professional training in nursing, Laura decided to do a second training course as a winemaker. The desire for an activity close to nature and her interest in the wide horizon of wine ultimately led her to this decision.
For Laura, it is fascinating to be actively involved in the entire process of wine making. She appreciates the multi-diversity of approaches in the profession of winemaker. She particularly likes being able to complete her apprenticeship here, in a biodynamic winery.
Angela Sârbu
a big help in the vineyard and passionate green-finger for our garden &vegetable garden
Born into a family of farmers in southern Romania, I grew up until the age of 18 on a farm raising livestock and growing vegetables.
Convinced that I would never work in the agricultural field again, I attended an agricultural university. During my studies I was involved in various volunteer projects at the university, and in my second year I also started working in an NGO, in social agriculture.
This is how I started to understand and love agriculture, studying and working at the same time. The curiosity to discover practically as much as possible of the subjects I was studying, led me to go abroad to work in Austria and Germany; and since spring 2021 I am at Klus 177.
Before I joined KLUS 177, I knew how to farm, but it was here that I learn the term biodynamic, which encourages a more conscious and holistic approach to farming and gardening, with a focus on the overall ecosystem.
Olha Nikolaichuk
Our event and house-keeping fairy
Olha fled Ukraine during the war in February 2022. While studying to become a kindergarten teacher, she moonlighted as a waitress in a restaurant. After a few months of experience, she was promoted to a managerial post. It was from this very first job that she discovered her passion in the gastronomy sector, gaining enormous experience in different establishments, from café, restaurant to beer garden.
Olha is grateful to be in Basel, her adopted home which welcomed her in time of need. Though not knowing any German but with reasonable English, Olha was determined to integrate herself to the local society, enrolled in German classes and joined the workforce in a sector which Switzerland is so lack of. Olha has been of great help to all our events and housekeeping since August 2022. Despite all that is happening in her far-away home, Olha greets all our guests with a positive attitude and an infectious smile.
