Champagne house
The listing below comprises some of the more prominent houses of Champagne. Most of the major houses are members of the organisation ''Union de Maisons de Champagne'' (UMC),Florens-Louis Heidsieck
Florens-Louis Heidsieck (1749–1828) was the founder of the Champagne house Heidsieck & Co from which later Piper-Heidsieck was spun off, and which was the start of the Heidsieck Champagne clan. Heidsieck was the son of a Lutheran minister fro ...
on 16 July 1785 in
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
. Heidsieck joined with Piper in October 1839. In the late 1980s, Piper-Heidsieck became part of the
Rémy Cointreau
Rémy Cointreau is a French, family-owned business group whose origins date back to 1724. The group has an international portfolio of spirits (cognac, liqueurs and spirits): Rémy Martin and Louis XIII cognacs, Cointreau liqueur, METAXA Greek spi ...
wine and spirits group. It was sold in 2011 to Européenne de Participation Industrielle, a privately owned holding company of French
luxury
Luxury may refer to:
* Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises
*Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars
**Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...
brands.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
was one of the House's earliest supporters, rumoured to have kept a month's supply of champagne in her kitchen.
Champagne
Piper-Heidsieck produces different champagnes, all with a non- malolactic, low- dosage method:
* Cuvée Brut (non-vintage) (''Composition:'' 55%
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
, 15%
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
, 30% Pinot Meunier.)
* Rosé Sauvage (non-vintage) (''Composition:'' 45% Pinot noir, 15% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Meunier)
* Cuvée Sublime (non-vintage) A demi-sec champagne. (''Composition:'' 55% Pinot noir, 15% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Meunier)
* Brut (Vintage 2006) (vintage) A special release from a year considered exceptional by Piper-Heidsieck. (''Composition:'' Pinot Noir, Chardonnay.)
* Cuvée Rare (vintage 2002) (''Composition:'' 30% Pinot noir, 70% Chardonnay.)
Owning no vineyards of their own, Piper-Heidsieck sources grapes from 60 vineyards in the
Champagne region
The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term " ...
, and produces around five million bottles of champagne a year.
History
After founder Florens-Louis Heidsieck died in 1828, the business was taken over by his nephew, Christian Heidsieck, and his cousin Henri-Guillaume Piper. These combined to form the Piper-Heidsieck house after Henri Piper married the widow of Christian Heidsieck in 1838.Official website /ref>