I was introduced to Lisanne van Son in late 2018 by Mark Warner & Alicia Basa of Borachio. Super enthused (Mark gets like that when he's passionate) about the wines she had made in Loire and her forthcoming Australia project, they suggested we connect, and boy, am I happy that we did. This sommelier-turned-winemaker has had extensive wine experience through Europe, her hospitality career spans her native Holland, the UK and Belgium.

In 2013 she went to Montlouis, Loire Valley and met Noella Morantin, working a few days a week in the vineyard and cellar. Lisanne credits Noella for helping her fall in love with winemaking. Over the subsequent next year’s she gained additional experience with other vignerons, Bertrand Jousset & Tony Bainbridge in Anjou. At the time she was still living in Belgium and commuting to the Loire for vineyard stints, but this is when she knew she wanted to begin her own project.

It was in March 2017 that Lisanne made the move to base herself in Loire permanently. Even though she had now gained experience in the vines, she had to study for a year to attain the wine-school degree she needed in order to be legally allowed to open a winery in France.

In 2016 and 2017 she made a very small quantity of wine from Cabernet Franc, this was to provide Lisanne the opportunity to experiment and hone her skills. Sonser Vins was created in 2018 with her friend Benjamin Serer, establishing themselves in an old troglodytic cave in Noizay, a short distance from the town of Amboise on the banks of the Loire River. The village has dozens of these cellars dug into the sandstone of the hill, generations of families have used them for winemaking and each is unique in character.

2019 saw changes to this business relationship, with Lisanne and Benjamin separating. From this vintage on it is to be known as Sonshine Vins.

The ultimate goal for Lisanne is to buy a parcel of land with vines, but in the meantime she sources fruit from organic and biodynamic farmers only. Many parts of Loire are increasingly seeing lower volumes, a result of frost and mildew. And whilst the initial intent was for fruit from Loire only, limited availability forced them to look elsewhere. In 2018 the biodynamic estate of Domaine Luc Faller in Alsace provided riesling, pinot gris and pinot blanc, and Lisanne has continued this relationship, purchasing fruit from the estate in 2019 and this year’s vintage as well.

This is the French part of Lisanne’s story, but a very important part of her journey includes her experience and ongoing work in Australia. Lisanne has a thirst for knowledge, to be inspired and to learn. This is what brought her to South Australia in 2017 for harvest with James Erskine and Tom Shobbrook. Friendships formed and the desire to return helped seed the idea of making wine here.

She returned to Australia in the winter of 2018 and spent time pruning for the Brodericks, Commune of Buttons, Borachio & Limus. During this period she formed contacts and began sourcing fruit for what would be her first Australian wines in 2019. Returning in February, Lisanne worked harvest again with James Erskine at Jauma and also made her own wines in the shed. The Boaz Wines from 2019 were bottled in February this year after extended èlevage when Lisanne returned for the 2020 harvest.