From vine to wine

Oeuilly is a champagne village situated on the left bank of the Marne Valley, 12 kilometres from Epernay. Our familiy's vineyard consists of 3 champagne grape varieties which are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier which is a grape variety typical of our valley. The vineyard is exclusively situated on the hillsides of Oeuilly and composed of 25 plots which make up the 5.5 hectares. The number and distribution of plots makes for a good variety of soils and aspects to the sun, allowing the blending of a rich diversity of flavours.

For a number of years, our vineyard has been putting in place a regime based on the principles of "la lutte raisonnee", a thought-out, balanced approach seeking to reconcile the need to control disease and pests with protecting the environment from an overuse of chemicals and pesticides. These principles are put into action by:

• making use of expert advice on the best ways to support the growing cycle of the vines by using the most appropriate treatments to avoid the risk of fungal diseases.

• minimising the unnecessary use of chemicals by carefully matching treatments and dosages to the risks of diseases and pests relevant to the different stages of the growing cycle of the vines.

• using repeated treatment only if made necessary, for example, by weather conditions, or by the intensity of the disease or attack by pests.

• avoiding the use of pesticides, where possible, by using biological techniques, for example by using sexual confusion methodology as a means of controlling caterpillars.

• suppressing weeds by using bark chippings, or by sowing winter cereals, to reduce the need for weed killers.

• keeping the application of nitrates to a minimum by a careful calculation of the fertilization needs of each individual plot of vines.

Our family have been Recoltants Manipulants (Wine Growers and Producers) for three generations, working the vineyards and producing the wines together as a family run enterprise. From the harvest to the pressing, the fermentation, and the disgorgement, through to the labelling, we control all the stages of the production of our champagnes ourselves. Winemaking takes place in a modern cave with temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, and the bottles are crated in gyropallets,...However, although we keep abreast of the latest available technology, we have always maintained respect for traditional methods in our work.