How important is product innovation to Champagne?
Champagne might be steeped in tradition, but to what extent is product innovation driving the category forward, and to what end?
Champagnes intended to be served over ice is just one innovation to have caught the eye of producers in recent years. Typically aimed at millennials, these frivolous and fun sparklers are often housed in striking, Instagram-friendly bottles, portraying a lifestyle of luxury. These over ice serves are essentially an incredibly clever rebranding of the painfully uncool demi-sec category, which until recently remained a guilty pleasure rather than something to proudly promote on social media and brag about to your friends.
Recent examples of over ice Champagnes include Moët & Chandon’s Moët Ice Impérial, which was launched in 2011. However Piper Heidsieck was first in on the act, championing the concept of the “Piscine” serve – Piper Heidsieck Brut chilled down with ice cubes made from the fizz so as not to dilute the flavour – back in 2006. Served in a large ruby red Piper-branded glass, the “Piscine” went on to become shorthand for anyone drinking Champagne on ice; a trend adopted avidly at beach clubs, high-end bars, hotels and nightclubs across the French Riviera. Today, numerous brands are staking a claim on the Champagne over ice market.
But what impact is product innovation within Champagne having on the category, and how important is it to the development and strength of the category? We asked a selection of key figures in the industry: How important is product innovation for the success of Champagne?
Click through for their responses…
Lynn Murray, marketing director, Hatch Mansfield
“True product innovation is a challenge for the Champagne category as you have to plan three years ahead when you consider the lead times on production and you’re also controlled by strict appellation laws. Innovation tends to be driven through packaging and marketing techniques and is an important way to attract a younger audience.
“For example, Taittinger Nocturne City Lights is a sec Champagne packaged in an eye-catching sleeve, which is targeted at a younger, nighttime audience. The style is softer and the packaging modern and striking but the product still has the premium Champagne values and can help bring a younger audience into the category.”
Emilie Guth, marketing director, Champagne Jacquart
“Product innovation is key for the success of Champagne as it allows the category to develop and stay dynamic. It is a way for consumers to discover the diverse array of styles that can be made in Champagne, with innovation coming via the product itself or new consumption habits.
“At Champagne Jacquart we have two major innovations this year: Brut Mosaic Signature, which is our Brut Mosaic aged for five years and Alpha 2010 Brut and Rosé.”
Olivier Legrand, marketing & communications director, Nicolas Feuillatte
“Product innovation is important, but with regards to new cuvées, we’re limited by AOC regulations. We try to innovate with new packaging that is consistent with the identity and positioning of the brand otherwise, it’s just short-term innovation that doesn’t bring any benefits for the brand. We need to concentrate on product innovation based around consumption trends.
“In this vein, when we decided to release three vintages of our prestige cuvée Palmes d’Or this year (1998, 1999 and 2000), rather than going down the traditional route of a luxury gift set, we used the opportunity to create an experience around the launch, working with top chefs to create a menu designed specifically to pair with the three cuvées. The experience is available to consumers for 10 guests at home for €1,500. It’s a more emotional approach to marketing, which is consistent with the brand.”
Didier Mariotti, chef de caves, Champagne Mumm
“For connoisseurs that treat Champagne like a wine and choose their brand according to taste, innovations that bring greater quality or complexity to the product are important. At Mumm we are always experimenting with new techniques and ideas, for example the judicious use of oak or increased maturation of reserve wines, in order to maximise quality and better express the terroir in our Champagnes.
“However, innovation in terms of new product development is also important because it allows us as producers to tap into new drinking occasions, enticing new consumers into the category. For example, we launched a refreshing twist on the Champagne cocktail recently in Croatia: hand-crafted, alcoholic fruit ice lollies called Mumm Poptails that are served in a glass of Mumm Rosé to provide a cooling yet rich texture and flavour experience while enjoying Champagne in the sun.”
Fabrice Rosset, president, Champagne Deutz
“Innovation in Champagne essential as it reflects the DNA and the values of the brand. As a consequence, innovation based on mere marketing or communication considerations is of little interest. Having three prestige cuvées within a range of eleven Champagnes, each with their own individual character, and the introduction of half bottles of all three is an innovation for our company.
“The broadening and fast-growing base of the pyramid of sparkling wine drinkers including younger consumers will be a great opportunity for producers of high-quality Champagne for decades to come. There is no conflict between tradition and innovation as long as the latter shows respect for the former.”
Terence Kenny, export director, Champagne Pannier
“When one thinks of product innovation in Champagne the playing field is quite restrained. Some would clamor that the mosaic of champagne’s vineyards provide the palette a myriad of colours to create a painting of unbridled creativity. Others could say the predominant grape varieties Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Meunier are pretty much just the same three chord rock and roll. It is easy to subscribe to the two view points.
“Innovation can come in different forms whether it be in creating low dosage, steely bracing wines for seafoods, sweet pinks for afternoon teas and desserts or even full reddish bruts to match with red meat. At Pannier we have all of these on offer.
“The extent of product innovation must however give the consumer the chance to add their own spin on how they serve champagne and on what occasions. In the past 30 years we have seen Champagne service go from coupes to flutes to white wine glasses, from wedding cakes and birthday parties to everyday aperitif quaffing.
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“The most innovative aspect of champagne is its inherent versatility and that remains the most intriguing door to open.”
Michel Drappier, owner and winemaker, Champagne Drappier
“Champagne is innovation. Using modern heavy glass bottles, calculating sugar, importing cork from far away, mastering subtle fermentation… Making a great festive wine with magical bubbles three centuries ago was a true innovation.
“Still today Champagne must, and actually does, innovate. Of course, Champagne keeps its DNA which comes from its terroir, climate, yeasts and the skills of the growers and winemakers, but it is permanently re-created. Consumers expect Champagne to be deeply rooted in its region and traditions but, at the same time, to surprise.
“At Drappier, we have never ceased to innovate. Eye-catching yellow label in 1952, Grande Sendrée, the first terroir cuvée of the Côte des Bar in 1974, first Pinot Noir Zéro Dosage in 1996, first Champagne without sulphite released in 2006. The first egg-shaped barrel used in Champagne for a vintage to be released in 2018. Solar power for our winery. Coming soon: a new Drappier bottle, more sustainable, better for the wine, and the consumer.
“Two young Drappier of the new generation have joined us in 2016, no doubt more innovations will pave their way.”
Bertrand Verduzier, export director, Champagne Gosset
“In Champagne, we have identified that consumers in mature markets (from enthusiastic amateurs to most demanding connoisseurs) are now looking for both authenticity and diversity in the offer. Range should hence be broader: above and beyond the core range, which sets the style and message of the Maison.
“In recent times, we have come up with new wines produced in limited quantities, such as Petite Douceur, an extra-dry Rosé with a dosage of 17 g/l, and Cuvée 15 ans, which emphasizes of the aging ability of top blends, with no mention of reference vintage.
“Those products demand a real commitment at production level, but they contribute in sharing the of artisanal approach of the house, as well as bringing a real point of difference in the category offer. We are encouraged to pursue releasing “spécialités” in the future.”
James Simpson MW, managing director, Pol Roger UK
“Champagne has, I suppose, been at the forefront of innovation (certainly if you take the long view). Whether the introduction of non-vintage cuvées (albeit that, at Pol Roger, it took 75 or so years between the first production of non-vintage out in Epernay and the launch in the UK – with the first White Foil appearing here in 1955).
“Or else the introduction of a non-dosage non-vintage (we launched Pure in 2009), making the most of the benefits of better vineyard management, better clones and earlier vintages (hence benefiting from a slightly lower natural acidity).
“Or the reintroduction of a lower dosage Rich demi-sec (Pol now at 34g/l) – bearing in mind that the history of Champagne, from circa 1700 to the mid 1800s, was all about sweet Champagne.
“Otherwise, innovation from Pol Roger tends to be fairly limited to vintage releases (2008 vintage due out next year – hopefully to a blaze of glory).”
Paul Beavis, managing director, Champagne Lanson, UK & International
“We have witnessed lots of ‘innovation’ in our category over the years, from ‘speaking’ Champagne boxes to experimentation with ice, to metal shaped presentations. All of this is fine and to some extent creates “fun” but in the prestige category it has to remain relevant. For Lanson it’s all about heritage, quality and taste. It’s what’s in the bottle that matters! It’s about building a story from the soil to what ends up in the bottle. This is a much more powerful way of educating someone about the development of your prestige brand.
“There’s no point in gaudy packaging and innovative pack designs, if the quality of what’s in the bottle isn’t the highest quality. Fun is fine, but the wine must be top notch. For 256 years, the House of Lanson’s focus has been on tradition and provenance and the class of the wine we produce. It’s ok to turn a box yellow or produce something catchy but it’s imperative to get the product absolutely right, especially if we are talking about the prestige Cuvée’s. Just take a look at our Clos Lanson range. We are producing excellent vintages from our single “Secret Garden” vineyard in Reims. For the first time all of the grapes produced for our Clos vintages are produced from our closed-walled vineyard garden. We’re using storytelling and vertical tastings to bring this wine to life on a global scale, as opposed concentrating on fancy stunts or packaging.”
Alexis Petit-Gats, managing director, Champagne Canard-Duchêne
“Product innovation is vital to Champagne but as important as providing uncompromised quality and relevant marketing offers. At Canard-Duchêne, for instance, we have been actively working on offering a certified AB [Agriculture Biologique] Champagne, which we are turning this year into an extra brut dosage.
“We have also crafted a new Charles VII ‘Smooth Rosé’ cuvée aiming at seduicing new customers with a softer and fruiter rosé style. We will be launching in December a gift pack including a bottle of our NV Authentic Rosé mixing Fossier Biscuits and Roses de Reims.”
