The listing below comprises some of the more prominent houses of Champagne. Most of the major houses are members of the organisation Union de Maisons de Champagne (UMC), [1] and are sometimes referred to as Grandes Marques. [2]
The listing below comprises some of the more prominent houses of Champagne. Most of the major houses are members of the organisation Union de Maisons de Champagne (UMC), [1] and are sometimes referred to as Grandes Marques. [2]
| House | Founded | Location | Cuvée | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abelé | 1757 | Reims | Sourire de Reims | Terroirs & Vignerons de Champagne (TEVC) [3] |
| Ayala | 1860 | Aÿ | Grande Cuvée (Vintage) | Groupe Bollinger [4] |
| Billecart-Salmon | 1818 | Mareuil-sur-Aÿ | Brut Réserve Clos St Hilare | Independent [5] |
| Binet | 1849 | Reims | Brut Elite Elite Rosé (Rosé de saignée) Elite Blanc de Noirs Médaillon Rouge (Vintage) | Independent |
| Boizel | 1834 | Épernay | Joyau de France (Vintage) | Lanson-BCC [6] |
| Boll & Cie | 1853 | Reims | Grand cru blanc de blancs (Vintage) | Independent |
| Bollinger | 1829 | Aÿ | Vieilles Vignes Françaises (Vintage) R.D. (Récemment Dégorgé) (Vintage) | Groupe Bollinger [4] |
| Bruno Paillard | 1981 | Reims | Nec Plus Ultra (Vintage) brut première cuvée (Vintage) | Independent [7] |
| Burtin - Besserat de Bellefon | 1843 | Épernay | Cuvée des Moines | Lanson-BCC |
| Canard-Duchêne | 1868 | Ludes | Grande Cuvée Charles VII | Groupe Thiénot |
| Cattier | 1918 | Chigny-les-Roses | Clos du Moulin | Independent [8] |
| Chanoine Frères | 1730 | Reims | Gamme Tsarine | Lanson-BCC |
| Charles Heidsieck | 1851 | Reims | Blanc des Millénaires (Vintage) | Societé Européenne de Participations Industrielles (EPI) [9] |
| De Castellane | 1895 | Épernay | Commodore (Vintage) | Laurent Perrier |
| De Cazanove | 1811 | Reims | Stradivarius | Groupe Rapeneau |
| De Venoge | 1837 | Épernay | Grand Vin des Princes (Vintage) | Lanson-BCC |
| Delamotte | 1760 | Le Mesnil-sur-Oger | Laurent-Perrier [10] | |
| Deutz | 1838 | Aÿ | Amour de Deutz (Vintage) | Louis Roederer Group [11] |
| Duval-Leroy | 1859 | Vertus | Femme de Champagne (above average years only) Fleur de Champagne (above average years only) | Family-owned [12] |
| Gosset | 1584 | Épernay | Celebris (Vintage) Grand Millésime (Vintage) | Renaud-Cointreau [13] |
| Alfred Gratien | 1864 | Épernay | Cuvée Paradis | Henkell Freixenet |
| Heidsieck & Co Monopole | 1785 | Épernay | Diamant Bleu (Vintage) | Vranken-Pommery Monopole |
| Henriot | 1808 | Reims | Cuvée des Enchanteleurs (Vintage) Brut Souverain | TEVC [14] |
| Jacquesson | 1798 | Dizy | Avize Grand Cru (Vintage) | TEVC [14] |
| Krug | 1843 | Reims | Krug (Vintage) Clos du Mesnil (above average years only) | LVMH [15] |
| Lanson | 1760 | Reims | Noble Cuvée (Vintage) | Lanson-BCC [16] |
| Laurent-Perrier | 1812 | Tours-sur-Marne | Grand Siècle | Laurent Perrier [17] |
| Mercier | 1858 | Épernay | Vendange (Vintage) | LVMH |
| Moët & Chandon | 1743 | Épernay | Dom Pérignon (Vintage) | LVMH |
| G. H. Mumm | 1827 | Reims | Mumm de Cramant | Pernod Ricard [18] |
| Pannier | 1899 | Château-Thierry | Covama | |
| Perrier-Jouët | 1811 | Épernay | Belle Époque (Vintage) | Pernod Ricard |
| Francis Pétret | 1960 | Chouilly | ||
| Piper-Heidsieck | 1785 | Reims | Rare | EPI |
| Pol Roger | 1849 | Épernay | Sir Winston Churchill (Vintage) | Independent |
| Pommery | 1836 | Reims | Cuvée Louise (Vintage) | Vranken-Pommery Monopole |
| Louis Roederer | 1776 | Reims | Cristal (Vintage) | Louis Roederer Group |
| Ruinart | 1729 | Reims | Dom Ruinart (Vintage) Ruinart blanc de blancs (Vintage) | LVMH |
| Salon | 1921 | Le Mesnil-sur-Oger | Champagne Salon (Vintage) | Laurent-Perrier |
| Taittinger | 1734 | Reims | Comtes de Champagne (Vintage) | Taittinger |
| Thiénot | 1985 | Reims | Cuvée Alain Thiénot (Vintage) Cuvée Stanislas (Vintage) Cuvée Garance (Vintage) La vigne aux Gamins (Vintage) | Groupe Thiénot |
| Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin | 1772 | Reims | La Grande Dame (Vintage) Carte jaune (Vintage) Clicquot Rich Reserve (Vintage) | LVMH |
| House | Year of foundation | Place of origin | Cuvée de prestige (Premium label) Vintage where indicated | Parent group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delbeck | 1832 | Reims | ||
| Drappier | 1808 | Urville | Grande Sendrée (Vintage) | Family-owned |
| Gauthier | 1858 | Épernay | Grande Réserve Brut | Lanson-BCC |
| Nicolas Feuillatte | 1972 | Chouilly | Palmes d'Or | TEVC |
| Selosse | 1960 | Avize | Independent | |
| Paul Goerg | 1950 | Vertus | Cuvée Lady C. (Vintage) | |
| Vilmart | 1872 | Rilly-la-Montagne | Coeur de Cuvée (Vintage) | Independent |
Champagne is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, specific grape-pressing methods and secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to cause carbonation.
The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term "champagne" exclusively for wines that come from this region located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Paris. The viticultural boundaries of Champagne are legally defined and split into five wine-producing districts within the historical province: Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. The city of Reims and the town of Épernay are the commercial centers of the area. Reims is famous for its cathedral, the venue of the coronation of the French kings and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is usually either white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda and Lambrusco, and the Australian sparkling Shiraz. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.
Taittinger is a French wine family who are famous producers of Champagne. The estate is currently headed by Vitalie Taittinger, who is the daughter of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, a member of the consultative committee of the Banque de France. Its diversified holdings included Champagne Taittinger, Société du Louvre and Concorde Hotels, whose flagship is the famed Hotel de Crillon on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France as well as the Loire Valley wine-producing firm of Bouvet-Ladubay, and a partnership in Domaine Carneros in California. All these holdings were sold to Starwood Capital in 2005. The family re-acquired the house of Champagne Taittinger in 2006 after securing financial support from the Crédit Agricole bank and also the backing of trade organisations.
Moët & Chandon, also known simply as Moët, is a French fine winery and part of the luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house. Moët et Chandon was established in 1743 by Claude Moët, and today owns 1,190 hectares of vineyards, and annually produces approximately 28,000,000 bottles of champagne.
Louis Roederer is a producer of champagne based in Reims, France. Founded in 1776, the business was inherited and renamed by Louis Roederer in 1833. It remains as one of the few independent and family-run maisons de champagne. Over 3.5 million bottles of Louis Roederer champagne are shipped each year to more than 100 countries.
Krug Champagne is a Champagne house founded by Joseph Krug in 1843. It is based principally in Reims, the main city in France's Champagne region and is one of the famous Champagne houses that formed part of the Grandes marques. Today the house is majority owned by the multinational conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S.E. whose portfolio includes other well known wine brands such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Château d'Yquem and Ruinart. Despite LVMH's majority ownership, the Krug family is still actively involved in all the key decisions of the house but does not manage the day-to-day operations.
The traditional method for producing sparkling wine is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce Champagne. It is also the method used in various French regions to produce sparkling wines, in Spain to produce cava, in Portugal to produce Espumante and in Italy to produce Franciacorta. The method is known as the méthode champenoise, but the Champagne producers have successfully lobbied the European Union to restrict the use of that term within the EU only to wines produced in Champagne. Thus, wines from elsewhere cannot use the term "méthode champenoise" on products sold in the EU, and instead the term "traditional method" or the local language equivalent. South African wines from the Western Cape are labelled with the term Methode Cap Classique. Some wine producers in countries outside the EU may disregard EU labeling laws and use méthode champenoise or even "Champagne" on labels for products not exported to the EU, but this usage is decreasing.
Rémy Cointreau is a French, family-owned business group specialized in the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages. The group's products include cognac, triple sec (Cointreau), the Greek spirit Metaxa, rum, brandy (St-Rémy), gin and whisky. The group, whose origins date back to 1724, was formed in 1990 after the merger of Rémy Martin and Cointreau. Rémy Cointreau also owns the fragrance company Maison Psyché.
G. H. Mumm & Cie is a Champagne house founded in 1827 and based in Reims, France. G.H. Mumm is one of the largest Champagne houses and is currently ranked 4th globally based on number of bottles sold. The company is owned by Pernod Ricard.
Ruinart is the oldest established Champagne house, exclusively producing champagne since 1729. Founded by Nicolas Ruinart in the Champagne region in the city of Reims, it is currently owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.
Château La Lagune is a winery in the Haut-Médoc appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.
Piper-Heidsieck is a Champagne house founded by Florens-Louis Heidsieck in 1785 in Reims, France. Piper-Heidsieck was acquired on July 8, 2011, by the French luxury group EPI, controlled by the Descours family. Before that, the house was owned by the Rémy Cointreau wine and spirits group since 1988.
Champagne Delamotte is a small producer of Champagne. Along with its "sister" winery Champagne Salon, Delamotte is the historical house of the Laurent-Perrier group.
Deutz, formerly known as Deutz & Geldermann, is a Champagne producer based in the Aÿ region of Champagne. The house was founded in 1838 by William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann and has since been run by successive generations of the Deutz and Geldermann families.
Mercier is a Champagne producer based in the Épernay region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1858 by Eugène Mercier, produces both vintage and non-vintage cuvée, which is stored in 18 km (11 mi) long cellar tunnels located 30 m (98 ft) underground. Parts of the cellar are open to the public, where visitors can use rail carts to navigate the tunnels. Today, the house owns 576 ha of vineyards. Mercier owned the original rights to the name Dom Pérignon but gave the brand to Moët et Chandon in 1927. Today the house is under the umbrella of the LVMH group and is the number one selling brand of Champagne in the domestic French market.
Patrick de Suarez d'Aulan is a French aristocrat, winemaker, and businessman.
Boll & Cie is a Champagne house based in Reims, a producer of sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France, founded in 1853. With the exception of the Brut Rose, all Champagnes from Boll & Cie are blanc de blancs. Boll & Cie specializes in Brut Champagne, including a Grand Cru from the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.
Ghislain de Montgolfier is a French winemaker, and the former head of the Bollinger Champagne house, and the sixth generation to run the family business.
Alfred Gratien is a champagne house, based in Épernay. It is named after its founder, who established the firm in 1864. The business was family-controlled until the start of the 21st century, and retains a strongly traditional approach to wine making.
