Oct 14, 2018
This week I'm joined by Thibaut Le Mailloux, Communications Director for the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) -- the Council that oversees the communications, grower relations and research and development for the Champagne region (www.champagne.com)
Your mind will be blown by some of the new things that are going on in Champagne to challenge climate change, especially. There are things in this podcast that I didn't know were going on, information about business issues and terroir that were fascinating. One of the most interesting conversations I've had the pleasure of having in a while.
Here are the show notes:
- Thibaut discusses the mission of the Champagne Council and how the team works to accomplish it.
- We discuss the various constituencies represented in but the Council and how the CIVC balances the interests to help everyone they represent
Then we talk about the region...
- We address: what is it about the terroir of Champagne– the slopes, the climate, the soil that make it so unique?
- We discuss sustainability and how climate change is affecting
Champagne -- grape varieties, harvest times, etc.
- Thibaut offers some R&D information that I was really surprised by! This was a total scoop in the show on grape varietals!
- We discuss the amazing 2018 harvest and why it was so important to Champagne
- Thibault talks about how the growers and the big Champagne houses interact and what grower Champagne has done for the region
Then we talk business!
- Thibault talks about how the international market for Champagne has changed over the years, the alternatives to Champagne and what they HAVEN'T done to Champagne's share and the role of China (another surprise!)
- We discuss the "legal fraud" issue perpetrated by the US and the fight that Champagne conducts daily to protect its name
Finally, we discuss the future of the region (beyond the big, surprising ideas of R&D that we cover earlier).
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