Champagne Domaine Vincey: How A Young Couple Crafts Their Champagnes Differently

Champagne Domaine Vincey: How A Young Couple Crafts Their Champagnes Differently

The big Champagne houses dominate the sales of Champagne all over the world. Their bottles are readily available because they make millions of them. For a small grower, life is different. Quentin Vincey and his partner Marine Zabarino are aiming at making 10 000 bottles. And their champagnes are different as well. When you can't compete in size, you have to offer something else.

Quentin Vincey is the eighth-generation champagne grower in Oger, a small village in the Côte des Blancs, situated between the famous villages of Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger. This is the heart of the Côte des Blancs, a district renowned for its Chardonnay grapes.

Until 2014, the Vincey family grew their grapes and delivered them to the local cooperative after harvest.

In 2010 Quentin took over, and things started to change. Ten years later, he still sells some grapes to small organic "houses“ (brand owners who mostly make champagne from bought-in grapes), but he and Marine keep grapes from 4 hectares for themselves. They have converted the family's 7 hectares to organic viticulture. They are inspired by biodynamic farming and spray with essential oils, and plant extracts help to keep their vines healthy. Five hectares out of the seven will soon