Where sugarcane juice is breaking new ground
Founded around 1815, during the island’s transition to sugar production, Bel-Air is one of a series of large Estates whose palm-lined avenues running perpendicular to the ocean define the landscape of northeastern Réunion.
Taken over by the family a century ago, the Estate spans 150 hectares, about ten of which are dedicated to processing sugarcane products.
Extraction, filtration, cooking, fermentation, distillation, blending… These techniques all serve the cause of innovation. Each stage of the production process becomes a laboratory for exploring new flavors and textures.
The Family Plantation
There can be no high-quality product without high-quality raw materials. Here, sugarcane grown on hillside plots exposed to the sea air. As a result, the plants benefit from abundant sunshine and ample rainfall, and are harvested by hand by the teams at the family-run farm.
For the past 40 years, the plantation has been managed by our uncle Bertrand. An experienced farmer with a passion for innovation, he has, over time, built an organization, both in terms of its people and its technology, guided by a forward-looking culture.
A Historical Site
The construction of the sugar refinery provided an opportunity for an architectural project carried out by Ateliers Prévost, heritage architects, illustrating the desire to harmoniously blend the site’s history with its new purpose.
On one side, the sugar refinery is housed in a new building with contemporary lines; on the other, the packing equipment has been installed in renovated historic “calbanons.” These long, narrow buildings first appeared with the recruitment of workers in the mid-19th century and served as collective housing, consisting of simple dormitories. Very few of these structures remain on the island. These calbanons therefore hold great historical significance, which Alexis Rivière is committed to preserving and sharing through tours of the production site, the estate, and its historic remains.
