François Thibault

François Thibault is the creator of GREY GOOSE vodka and the world’s only Maître de Chai of a French vodka.

François Thibault was born into a family of winegrowers in the Cognac region, so he has been immersed in the world of wine and spirits his whole life. As a young man he was swept up by the family passion for this world, and it became clear to him that this was to be his calling.

Having become a real wine enthusiast, François Thibault embarked upon a winegrowing and oenology course in Beaune, Burgundy, before going on to study oenology at the University of Bordeaux II.

After graduating, he began his working life by taking charge of a wine production plant. But before long, François Thibault wanted to dedicate himself to Cognac. His dream was to create products originating from the region he loved most: Cognac and Pineau des Charentes, served as an aperitif.

As tradition demands, he started as a technical oenologist alongside the Maître de Chai before going on to become his apprentice. He was to spend seven years learning the art and passion of this profession and acquiring the expertise which is Cognac’s heritage.

In 1992, he realized his dream. François Thibault became Maître de Chai himself when his predecessor and mentor retired and paid him the great honor of appointing him to his own post. So he became Maître de Chai with the responsibility of ensuring the quality of all the steps necessary to the production of Cognac. For 25 years he continued to work in this domain.

Beyond his involvement in producing and creating cognacs, François Thibault has gone further still in finding and creating new products. In 1996, Sydney Frank, a visionary businessman from the US importing spirits, thought up the concept of GREY GOOSE with a single ambition: to create the supremely French luxury vodka.

So he approached François Thibault. They had worked together in his company and he knew he was the best distiller and Maître de Chai in the whole of the Cognac area. Being honored by this request and intrigued by the idea, François Thibault agreed to take on the challenge.

So he changed the course of his career, becoming the Maître de Chai for GREY GOOSE.

François Thibault invented the process for creating GREY GOOSE, guided by his inspiration, imagination and vast expertise. He designed this process in his own image: with the utmost care and attention in order to deliver the product and quality that Sidney Frank wanted.

François Thibault, who has been the Maître de Chai for GREY GOOSE vodka since 1996, oversees its production every day to ensure its quality meets his exacting standards.

Just as he did for cognacs, he designed, checked and monitored the whole chain of production, designing a specific process just for GREY GOOSE.

François Thibault is proud of the product he created, and is keen to share his passion with anyone he meets, so he has also become the Ambassador for GREY GOOSE, now the number one French vodka in the world.