Get to Know Wine Maker Corinne Guilleminot

Among the rolling meadows and vines of the Champagne region lies a small commune situated in the “Côte des Bar’ province. It is here that the Guilleminot family have long produced Pinot Noir predominant Champagne of distinguished quality and remarkable expression.

Proprietor and 3rd generation winemaker, Corinne Guilleminot, is proudly committed to her family’s tradition of crafting terroir driven Champagne wines.

“Our story begins in the Champagne region of Côte des Bar in the southern area called Channes. Our family has hand-harvested and produced Champagne meticulously for many generations. As recoltants manipulants, our family plays two important wine making roles – the grower and the producer. Our family run Grower Champagne label is deep rooted in tradition and terroir. Our cuvées speak to the quality and composition of the Kimmeridgean soil, our commitment to environmental conservation and the community spirit that makes their wine what it is”.

These are the wines that were made long before the establishment of the large Maisons or “House” Champagnes. Despite a rich history, Grower Champagne represents just 25% of all Champagne sold globally and this number is slowly going down for economic reasons. The family is very proud to have grown up on the land, tending and harvesting from a number of vineyards in the area with a small allocation sold to the Moët Hennessey-owned Champagne house Veuve Clicquot.

“We have neighbors that grow simply to sell to negociants or wine producers” Corinne says.

“From growing and pruning, to assemblage or the art of blending, to distributing and sales, every task is a responsibility of one of our family members and we do it with care and purpose. It’s a long-standing tradition that my father and great-grandfather have upheld, that we believe transpires to a Champagne with true character. Champagne Guilleminot embottles our family’s passion, heritage and signature style.”

Champagne Guilleminot prioritizes low yield farming. This sustainable wine making philosophy ties wonderfully into our family’s proud commitment to maintaining HVE certification. “Haute Valeur Environmentale” or High Environmental Value. This signifies that the family uphold strict efforts to protect the environment, biodiversity and soil culture of tomorrow.

“We believe this to be an important step for our community, our family and you as the wine consumer” Corrine says.

The secret lies in the family’s bond and force of 120 residents from the commune of Channes who come to assist. For weeks the community will move vineyard to vineyard, harvesting and handling the delicate fruit parcels before the break of dawn to protect the quality, aroma and integrity of the grape skin. The hard work of harvest is rewarded by the local baker who oven-bakes enough baguettes to feed a small army broken across the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Ask any artisan producer or aficionado and they will agree the best Champagne never leaves France. But the Guilleminot family adopt a different notion wanting to share their craftsmanship with the world. 75000 bottles are allocated to the domestic consumers with a special allocation made for export to the wider European market and the United States.

Stylistically, Champagne Guilleminot is mature, elegant, lightly fruity yet balanced. In the same pursuit of consistency and complexity as the finest artisan producers in France, Corrine and her family blend wine from multiple previous vintages.

“Our Champagne has a feminine touch having never seen malolactic fermentation and so remains higher in natural fruit acid for vibrancy and freshness. We age the “prise de mousse” of our Prestige Cuvée on lees for a longer-than-usual 5 years. This patient aging process promises a wine with exceptional length, multi-layered complexity and most importantly, an elegant fine beaded bubble. The finished product is fine-tuned with a tiny amount of sugar for well balanced, creamy Brut or Demi Sec style”