CHAMPAGNE - THE BRANDS

Champagne - The Brands

There are hundreds of different Champagne brands. From Champagne Houses to supermarket labels. And numerous other 'names'. Some Champagnes are made by a single Champagne House, some from grapes grown on a single vineyard plot. Some are grown by cooperatives where various Champagne growners combine their grapes to produce a Champagne, then this is sold under various different labels.

Anyway, there are a number of Champagne 'super' brands, for want of a better expression. They are sometimes called 'Grand Marque' Champagnes. These Champagnes, and their 'pretige cuvees' are:

Moet et Chandon's Dom Perignon; Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne; Perrier-Jouet's Belle Epoque; Ruinart's Dom Ruinart; Bollinger's Bollinger RD and Grand Annee; Louis Roederer's Cristal; Veuve Clicquot's La Grande Dame; Pol Roger's Cuvee Winston Churchill; Laurent-Perrier's Grand Siecle.

Out of these, perhaps the cleverest piece of marketing of a prestigious cuvee is Moet et Chandon's Dom Perignon. Dom Perignon was probably the most influential figure in Champagne history, and Moet et Chandon bought the rights to use his name in the 19th Century. They created the first 'prestige cuvee' in 1936, using their 1921 vintage Champagne. To this day, they go to great lengths to keep the two brands separate, and most people do not realise that Dom Perignon is actually made by Moet et Chandon.