Chef de Cave Artistry

by Kathleen Moroney

In Champagne making, the wine maker is called the Chef de Cave. These artists have extraordinarily sensitive and sophisticated palates, capable of distinguishing the character of the grape juice from each individual vine. They taste the juice from each row of grapes nurtured by each grower several times throughout the growing season to understand the character of the juice as it’s forming, how they will use that juice (or not), and to determine the exact time that each row should be harvested.

These Champagne makers produce an amazing variety of taste profiles—from the very sweet (demi-sec) to the very dry (brut nature), from fruity and light (blanc de blanc) to rich and dense (rosé), to a unique wine representing the harvest of any particular year (Millésimé or vintage).

The most popular champagnes are the Bruts, and every house has a signature style represented in this wine. It is the job of the Chef de Cave to achieve a consistent Brut Champagne in taste and style year after year. Vintage Champagnes are where they get to exhibit their artistry and expertise in creating a truly unique wine based on the particular profiles of the grapes that have been harvested in any one season.

Read more about what makes Champagne more than just sparkling wine.

After falling in love with champagne a few years ago, Kathleen attained her dream job as the Singapore Brand Ambassador for Laurent-Perrier Champagnes. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it! She explains the difference between sparkling wines like Prosecco from Italy, Cava from Spain, and Champagne.