One of the great wine merchants of the 20th Century, Dubouef enthusiastically promoted a little-known ordinary red wine called Beaujolais Nouveau into a global phenomenon by hyping its release.
After creating an association of wine producers to promote wines from the Beaujolais region, he opened his own winery in 1964. Throughout the 1980s he held Beaujolais Nouveau festivals attended by, among other celebrities, Michelin-starred restaurateurs. Release of Beaujolais Nouveau wine is celebrated worldwide as Beaujolais Nouveau Day.
When he passed the company to his son Franck in 2018, the company was producing about 30 million bottles a year.