It
was one of the annoying flights to Paris, late start, 'this is your
captain speaking, please remain seated at all times as we're
expecting heavy turbulence', arriving in Charles de Gaulle Airport
(don't need to get in to that) and waiting 40 minutes to get a
shitty car that never – even downhill with the wind coming from
behind – would be able to violate any speeding regulations. So yes;
I'm running late. By a few hours. I am en route to Reims where
the Terres & Vins de Champagne group is having a get together in the vaulted
cellars of the famous cathedral. The real tasting is not until
tomorrow, but the Terres & Vins group is hosting a social event
the day before as usual. On the highway, Aurélien is on the phone:
'Where are you?' 'On my way!' 'Okay, see you soon'. I stumble into
the beautiful rooms that have a rather sacred ambience holding a
light and delightfull buzz of people who have been spending the last
couple of hours sipping champagne. I love that buzz and is truly
happy to have finally arrived.
I
am only halfway through the crowd saying hello to many good friends
and acquaintances, doing les bises
here and there as deemed appropriate in a situation like this and
happily accepting the champagne glass someone is handling me, and
then there's a sudden sound of someone clearing his throat in a
microphone. Everybody turns to look at Benoît. He can on occasions
be somewhat of a showman, but this time he and Alexandre are going to
hand over the Terrea & Vins-prize as the group does every year to
someone they believe has showed effort to promote growers champagne.
Great ambassadors of Champagne such as Peter Liem and Jordi Melondo
e.g.
As
I hear the names Mia and Mads Rudolf, I am truly stunned. But
mostly: Completely lacking words! It's a great and unexpected honour
and I would have loved to explain how grateful I am and how important
this is to Mia and me. And this is exactly why I dragged you all the
way through delays, airplane turbulence, Charles de Gaulle Airport,
car hiring and so on: I want to apologize for me looking sheepish,
trying to say thanks a bunch in french, and for Mia not beeing there
at all. Well. Therefore this writing. When I called Mia on the phone
afterwards, she said, 'Oh how fantastic, did you remember to say this
and that in your thank you-speech?' Well no, I did not... If my head
had been a bit more clear, I would have put something like this
together:
Terroir
versus brand
Champagne
is geographically a large area with considerable differences from
region to region. Differences that, traditionally, have not been
emphasized. As dedicated champagne enthusiasts, we've travelled the
region and searched in many a book for any kind of information to
enlighten us on this marvelous beverage. And in any book, we would
generally get the explanation, that the vineyards of Champagne
couldn't make complex wines, and that it would only be possible to
achieve greatness in the wines by blending from most of the area. An
explanation that not only didn't match the experiences we have had on
our journeys to Champagne, but was in complete and utter
contradiction to the reality that we had experienced through – and
with – the growers, our friends, from all over the area. So what to
do? In a way the answer is simple: rewrite the books. Or rather:
Write your own book with the true, athentic story of the Champagne
district.
That
is what we tried to with our book from 2009 – The Champagne Bible.
It tells the story of Champagne and champagne in eye sight with the
growers and the vineyards behind the wines and not so much with the
big merchants and famous brands and Châteaux of the region. In fact
it is a main thesis in the book: That there is a thorough and quite
important conflict between brand and terroir which goes back to the
very early days of sparkling wines, and which has formed history and
its events to this date. An analysis we indeed are proud of claiming
as our contribution to the perception of the history of champagne.
(Unfortunately still only available in Danish ... ). Yes, the
controversy between merchants and growers does exist in all wine
regions, but never put so much on the edge as in Champagne. Yes,
there are general contradictions between brand and terroir, but
champagne is exemplary to highlight and understand these differences.
Craftmanship
and consciousness
Like
in most of Western Europe, 20th century Champagne has been ruined
with poor work, overuse of chemical (de-)solutions and a general
decline in basic understandings of the work with soil and the vines.
But there has also been more awareness towards greater knowledge of
vinification processes. And first of all the area has turned from a
poor region with fear of famines and disasters to a fairly rich area
with a quite prosperous agriculture.
During
the 15 or so years we've been working professionally with the people
and wines of Champagne, there has been a growing awareness of the
need to restore the craftmanships of the wine and the consciousness
of the soil. To work sustainable and with pride. For us the Terres &
Vins organisation proves this very clearly and is at the same time an
inspiration to let it grow.
Past
and future
We've
been visiting Champagne before we even met eachother. (What Mia
remembers best from her very first visit to Champagne is peeing at
night in one of Pommery's vinyards). The beautiful cellars of
Pommery, the impressive largeness of Moët and further on. We visited
Billecart-Salmon, Leclerc-Briant and even Anselme Selosse whom then,
in general and certainly also to us, was considered the state of
art-exception to the rule that all great wines should come from
assemblages made by the big houses. But it was Terres & Vins
members to be, David and Pascal, that first showed us the real
Champagne. Opened our eyes to the many different terroirs and
expressions of the area. It was with other Terres & Vins members
to be, like Françoise and Olivier, who made us realize how vast and
diverse Champagne could be. We owe great gratitude to all the people
who opened their doors and invited us into the cellar. And showed us
around the vineyards while answering our more or less stupid
questions.
When
we started to travel frequently in Champagne some 15 years ago, it
struck us that all the villages were very closed, with shutters in
front of the windows and the gates just as closed. We met marvelous,
generous people all over, but it seemed as though they didn't get
along with their neighbours very well. Whereas Burgundy has its
Grands Jours..., Languedoc/Rousillon ViniSud and Loire the Salon des
Vins de la Loire, just to mention a few, Champagne seemed to us
rather unable to cooperate. Could you borrow your neighbours tractor,
we wondered. Could you do serious wine tasting together with
competitors. No, we thought, no, not in Champagne. But that was
before.
Nobel
Prize
We
did manage to find our humble ways to most of you on numerous travels
and tastings. But bringing this all together in one organisation, in
one tasting, with many different expressions, but with one united
goal – to show the diversity of the true work with vines and wines
within Champagne – that is a rather impressive task, and we are
very thankful for you to accomplish that.
Times
have changed. Champagne experts and authors of classic books on
champagne now feel it's necessary to embrace the growers and even
claim to have discovered the potential of the récoltant-champagne.
So be it. We all know that the truth is elsewhere to be found. To
reveal the potential of Champagne is a tough and dirty work that
starts in the vineyard. But it is a significant change in the view of
the growers, and for that you, the hard working and true vignerons of
Champagne, can praise yourselves.
To receive the Terres & Vins prize is a great honour. It went by without any front pages back home in Denmark, but when people ask why we have this piece of barrel with our names on it, we explain that we won the Nobel Prize of Champagne. Nothing more, nothing less. And oh yes, we are proud of it! So thank you all very much.
To receive the Terres & Vins prize is a great honour. It went by without any front pages back home in Denmark, but when people ask why we have this piece of barrel with our names on it, we explain that we won the Nobel Prize of Champagne. Nothing more, nothing less. And oh yes, we are proud of it! So thank you all very much.
Ceci n'est pas une pibe! This is not just any piece of barrel, it's our Terres & Vins award
which we got in april 2013. Thank you Terres & Vins de Champagne, we are very proud.
