The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
20 results across all types
- news
Inside Champagne Henriot: Alice Tétienne and the Return of Les Enchanteleurs
"I wish I could tell the consumer who drinks my wine, that they may not realise it, but at every stage of winemaking we think of them: what they might expect, feel and experience when tasting our cuvées." That mindset says a lot about Alice Tétienne. In Champagne, the title chef de cave rarely captures the full scope of the role. At Champagne Henriot, Alice Tétienne operates not only as cellar master but also as Deputy Managing Director, placing her at the intersection of vineyard strategy,...
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The Return of Draft Horses to Champagne: Sustainable or Simply Symbolic?
Words by Lucy Edwards Few images are more romantic than a draft horse walking slowly between the vines of Champagne. Leather harness creaking, chalk dust rising in the morning light, hooves pressing gently into ancient soils. The Champagne-Ardennes region is, after all, home to the Trait Ardennais , one of Europe’s oldest draft breeds. Before tractors and mechanisation reshaped viticulture in the 1960s, horses were essential to the region. Today they are almost extinct. But since the 2010s,...
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Champagne Hautbois: The Rising Star of the Massif de Saint-Thierry
In Pévy, a small village tucked into the rolling slopes of the Massif de Saint-Thierry, Fabien Hautbois is quietly rewriting expectations...
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Champagne M.Hostomme: A Century of Grand Cru Heritage in Chouilly - An interview with Laurent Hostomme
Rooted in Chouilly, the Hostomme family has been shaping wine for nearly a century, from its beginnings in polyculture and post-phylloxera recovery, to its reputation today as a producer unafraid to experiment with forgotten grapes, unconventional élevage, and even sea-aging. At the helm is Laurent Hostomme, the fourth generation to steward the family name. For him, Champagne is not only an inheritance but a living philosophy, grounded in respect, generosity, and continuity.
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Arbane to Eau-de-Vie: Inside the Multi-Faceted World of Moutard
The rainy drive to Buxeuil reveals the character of the Côte des Bar: rural, rugged, and refreshingly unpolished. Far from the manicured elegance of the Montagne de Reims or the Côte des Blancs, this is Champagne’s earthy, southern sibling, raw and unapologetically itself. Alexandre Moutard, third generation, greets me with the ease of someone entirely at home in his surroundings: no fuss, no grand introduction, just a handshake, a smile, and a sense that we can get straight to the real stuff....
- news
The Carbon Footprint of Champagne - and a Simple Guide to Offset it
Champagne carbon footprint, sustainable Champagne, carbon neutral Champagne, eco-friendly Champagne packaging, Champagne greenwashing, Champagne sailboat shipping, upcycled Champagne bottles
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Remise en Cercle: Champagne’s Secret to Complexity and Correction
Anyone with a working knowledge of champagne knows there are two fermentations: one to turn grape juice into still wine, and one to transform that wine into champagne. This second fermentation happens inside the bottle and is triggered by the addition of sugar and yeast, a process known as prise de mousse . That, in theory, is where the magic happens... But what happens when the magic doesn’t happen? What if the second fermentation doesn’t take? What if the wine develops oxidative notes that...
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Champagne’s Village of Three Appellations : The History & Wines of Les Riceys
Tucked away in the Barséquanais, Les Riceys isn't just any Champagne village. It's the largest by vineyard area in the entire region, with over 840 hectares under vine. But it's not just size that makes it special. Les Riceys is the only village in Champagne that can legally produce all three of the region's appellations: AOP Champagne, AOP Coteaux Champenois, and the elusive AOP Rosé des Riceys. That alone should earn your attention.
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The Rise of Micro-Cuvées: What Billecart-Salmon’s Rendez-Vous Collection Tells Us About Champagne’s Future
For centuries, the power of champagne has resided in its blend; its ability to weave together villages, vintages, and grape varieties...
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The Aube: Why Champagne’s Wild & Rebellious South is Stealing the Spotlight
If your understanding of Champagne ends at the chalky slopes of Épernay and the stately maisons of Reims, it’s time to look further south. The Aube, long the quiet, Pinot-driven ugly cousin of the region, has remained in the shadows for much of Champagne’s modern history. For decades, the grandes maisons discreetly sourced fruit from its bucolic hillsides south of Troyes, while rarely acknowledging its origin. The reason? The Aube was considered second-tier; useful, but not worthy of celebration
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The Ultimate 3-Day Champagne Itinerary: Reims, Epernay, and Hidden Gems
Moulin de Verzenay Champagne is not just about bubbles - it's about history, tradition, and the people who bring this iconic wine to...
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Champagne Demière: The Secret to Crafting Age-Worthy Meunier
In the heart of Fleury la Rivière in the Vallée de la Marne, is where the legacy of Champagne Demière began in 1936. Audrey and Jérôme,...
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Is Champagne Going Overboard? The Sea-Ageing Experiments Making Waves in the Wine World
What happens when you take one of the world’s most celebrated wines and submerge it 60 metres beneath the waves, surrounded by darkness,...
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Champagne's Singaporean Legacy: Eugena Ng-Collery of Maison Collery
1. Do you remember your first glass of champagne? It was a casual get-together with friends here in Singapore. Someone brought a bottle...
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Fête de la St. Vincent: Champagne’s Historic Traditions of Blessings, Brioche, and Bacchanalian Feast
Every January, the Champagne region comes alive with the Fête de la Saint Vincent, the patron saint of winemakers. Rooted in centuries of...
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Interview with Agathe Bellanger of Champagne Le Brun de Neuville
Agathe Bellanger, a champenoise from Sézanne, has been part of the Champagne Le Brun de Neuville team since 2019. As the Sales Director and
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What is Voltis: Champagne's Experimental Hybrid Grape
In a region as steeped in tradition as Champagne, change doesn’t come easily. The strict regulations governing its production have...
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Foil Me Once: The Changing Face and Regulations of Champagne Packaging
The neck foil, or coiffe, has adorned champagne bottles for nearly 200 years. Initially introduced to hide underfilled bottles, and protect
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The Magic of Meunier with Champagne Eric Taillet
Nestled in the heart of the Marne Valley, the Taillet house introduced its first bottles to the world in 1961. Today, under the...
- news
Three Secrets of the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims
Listed as a UNESCO heritage site since 1991, this 6,650 m2 monument was the place that almost 30 French Kings were crowned. The first was...