The Coulon family originates from Cornus in Rouergue (France). Paul Coulon (1731-1820), the common Protestant ancestor, left France for religious reasons in 1754 and settled in Geneva, then in Neuchâtel. The family was ennobled by Frederick William IV, King of Prussia, on July 17, 1847, for saving the Principality of Neuchâtel during the Sonderbund Civil War from a Bernese invasion. Today, Romain, Paul (absent from the photo), and Oskar represent the 8th generation in Eclépens.

The Estate is managed by François and Daria. François has been in charge of the wine and agricultural estate since 2007. Initially part-time, he has been full-time since January 1, 2010, when he took over the estate from his father Georges, who had modernized it starting in 1981. After several experiences abroad, François returned to Switzerland in 2007. Very quickly, new directions were taken in the cultivation and aging of wines, ultimately transitioning to organic farming on January 1, 2017.

Deeply involved in numerous cantonal and federal associations, François was appointed Honorary Consul of Slovakia on April 1, 2017, in recognition of services rendered to that country between 1995-96. Today, François leads a team of four employees, highly invested in the estate, which has a flat organizational structure. His thoughts are primarily for future generations, striving to cultivate excellence in the vineyards, wines, and organic products from the estate’s lands. To paraphrase Saint-Exupéry’s adage, he knows he is merely passing through, and that the estate is borrowed from his children.

Daria is the great-granddaughter of a great Russian writer who died in 1910, a branch of whose family settled in Sweden in 1917. Her basic education includes biology (Master of Science from Lund University), economics (INSEAD, Paris), and brief therapy (Gregory Bateson Institute). In addition to her therapy activities, Daria is responsible for events and festivities on the estate. These are organized throughout the year at the château and in its gardens (corporate tastings, vineyard and cellar tours, meals, civil weddings, wedding receptions, aperitifs in the gardens).