THE CHAMPAGNE HOUSES

 
Champagne wines owe their worldwide renown to the talent and expertise of the Champagne Houses.
 
Their special talent lies in the crafting of cuvees with a timeless style that is unique to the House in question. Every cuvee – or blend – draws on the strengths of particular grape varieties, vineyards and vintages. The bulk of this production is made from bought-in grapes that are supplied under long-term contracts with independent growers (vignerons).

The Champagne Houses currently account for more than two-thirds of all Champagne shipments and represent 90% of the export market.
 
In 1882 they formed what is now the Union of Champagne Houses (UMC) to protect the name ‘Champagne’. Originally known as the Syndicat du Commerce des Vins de Champagne, the union prosecuted anyone who misused the name ‘Champagne’, whether in France or abroad, and it invariably won its case. ‘Champagne’ might have otherwise become the generic term for all sparkling wines.

UMC membership today comprises producers of the grandes marques: literally the ‘big brands’ (in name though not always in output) blended from bought-in grapes from selected vineyards that contribute to the style of the brand.

The end of the 19th century brought a curse of a different sort: phylloxera. United against a common enemy, the merchant Houses rallied to the rescue of beleaguered growers and founded the Association Viticole Champenoise (AVC, or wine-growing association of Champagne). Growers and producers now work shoulder-to-shoulder within the structure of the Champagne Wines Committee (CIVC) to achieve the AVC’s two-fold mission: protection of the appellation and the development of grape and wine technology.

Discover all the Champagne Houses in the ‘wine tourism’ section of this website.