Claude Taittinger (2 October 1927 – 3 January 2022) was a French businessman. He was longtime director of Taittinger Champagne and was the son of

Pierre Taittinger Pierre-Charles Taittinger (4 October 1887 – 22 January 1965) was the founder of the Taittinger champagne house and chairman of the municipal council of Paris in 1943–1944 during the German occupation of France, in which position he pl ...

Life and career

Following his studies at the Faculty of Law of

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

, Taittinger entered the family wine business in 1949. He spent the remainder of his career there, with the exception of military served in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

and

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. In 1958, he married Catherine de Suarez d'Aulan, daughter of

Jean de Suarez d'Aulan Aviator Jean d'Aulan Jean de Suarez d'Aulan (20 November 1900 – 8 October 1944) was a French aviator, auto racer, bobsledder, businessman and soldier. Background The ‘de Suarez’ name originates from the Spanish aristocracy whilst the � ...

, with whom he had three daughters: Brigitte, Virginie, and Christine. Taittinger became managing director of the family business after the accidental death of his brother, François, in 1960. He was also Chairman of the

Société du Louvre Groupe du Louvre is a French company, headquartered in Village 5, La Défense in Nanterre, France. Groupe du Louvre and Louvre Hotels Group was sold to Jinjiang International, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Development Co., Ltd. in 2015. ...

and served on the advisory board of the

Bank of France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

. To honor his father, who died in 1965, he founded the Prix culinaire international Pierre-Taittinger in 1967. In 1983, he created the Taittinger Collection, a collection of artwork used on champagne bottles. Artists who contributed to the collection included

Victor Vasarely Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement. His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consi ...

Arman Arman (November 17, 1928 – October 22, 2005) was a French-born American artist. Born Armand Fernandez in Nice, France, Arman was a painter who moved from using objects for the ink or paint traces they leave (''cachets'', ''allures d'objet'') to ...

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (13 June 1908 – 6 March 1992) was a Portuguese abstract painter. She was considered a leading member of the European abstract expressionism movement known as Art Informel. Her works feature complex interiors and ...

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...

Hans Hartung Hans Hartung (21 September 1904 – 7 December 1989) was a German-French painter, known for his gestural abstract style. He was also a decorated World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, ...

, ,

Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

Roberto Matta Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art. Bio ...

, and

Zao Wou-Ki Zao Wou-Ki (; 1 February 1920 – 9 April 2013) was a Chinese-French painter. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Zao Wou-Ki graduated from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he studied under Fang Ganmin and Wu ...

. In 1987, Taittinger created the Domaine Carneros, in association with the Kobrand Corporation, to distribute Taittinger wine in the United States. He retired in 2006 following the company's purchase by

Crédit Agricole Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte ( en, The green bank) due to its historical ties to farming, is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is France's second lar ...

. In 2008, his daughter, Virginie, left the family business and founded with her son, Ferdinand Pougatch. Taittinger was an Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

and was decorated with the

Ordre du Mérite militaire A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

. Taittinger died in Paris on 3 January 2022, at the age of 94.

Publications

*''Thibaud le Chansonnier, comte de Champagne'' (1987) *''Monsieur Cazotte monte à l'échafaud'' (1988) *''Saint Evremond ou le bon usage des plaisirs'' (1990) *''Champagne par Taittinger'' (1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taittinger, Claude 1927 births 2022 deaths 20th-century French businesspeople 21st-century French businesspeople Wine merchants Sciences Po alumni Businesspeople from Paris Officers of the Legion of Honour