House of Briard

Champagne, France

The Champagne region is located in the northeast of France, about 150km east of Paris. It is characterized by a cool climate and chalky soil, which gives the grapes high acidity and minerality. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay are mainly grown here.

The Briard family estate and vineyards

The Briard family is a récoltant-manipulant (RM) that grows grapes, brews wine, and bottles wine under one roof. They have a domaine and vineyards in the village of Auvillers, where the monastery of Dom Pérignon, the father of Champagne, rests. The village of Auvillers is located on the side of a hill overlooking the Marne Valley.

The Briard family's vineyards cover a total of 4 hectares across 16 plots in the village of Auvillé, and they have been practicing organic farming since the 1960s.

Organic history: 1970 (started in the 1960s)

The Briard family has a long history of organic farming, beginning with Jean and Hélène, the parents of the current owner, Vincent, who decided to return to the basics of grape growing in order to entrust everything to the various life forms that exist in this tiny universe of Auville. This was in the 1960s. At the time, the world was moving headfirst towards chemical farming, so this was the first step in a completely contrarian approach.

Jean says, "Well, I was too optimistic, so I didn't surrender (to the resistance of chemical farming)." Jean's efforts were steadily passed on to Vincent, and now to his daughter Florence and her partner Antoine, and they have continued as pioneers of organic champagne for three generations.

"Auvery is full of such diverse natural scenery, and we respect that by growing grapes in harmony with it and making champagne that makes the most of those grapes, the Briard family's many cuvées are full of potential," say the young third-generation owners, proud of the organic choice made by their grandparents and parents.

• White grapes: Chardonnay
• Black grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier

Field soil

The soil is calcareous. In the Champagne region, where vineyards are lined up on the slopes, landslides and topsoil erosion have become a problem in fields where herbicides are used during heavy rains caused by recent climate change. However, there is no need to worry about this in the Briard family's fields, where they have been practicing organic farming for over 50 years.

Characteristics of cultivation methods etc.

• The vineyard is divided into small plots, each of which is planted with a suitable grape variety (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, or Chardonnay) depending on its geology and characteristics.
• The entire harvest is done by hand. Many people come to this event every year, and the atmosphere during the harvest is very pleasant.

Characteristics of brewing method

• Only the first squeezed juice is used in-house. The second and third squeezed juice is sold elsewhere.
• Aged for one year in large oak barrels (the same barrels are used for many years, as the purpose is not to add a barrel aroma) before bottling and shipping after a minimum of three years of aging.
• Blanc de Blanc, made only from Chardonnay, is only produced in the years in which it is decided to do so.