A tiny cosmos built on history, values, tradition and trust.
(English episode) Vitalie was born in Reims, she's the
great-granddaughter of Champagne Taittinger's founder Pierre
Taittinger and now she is the President of the champagne house. Two
years ago, she took over from her father, Pierre-Emmanuel. When I
first met the young woman a few years ago, I asked myself if it's a
gift or a burden to be born into one of the world's most famous
champagne families, if it's freedom or pressure. Clovis is
Vitalie's brother, he's the company's Managing Director. When it
came to the decision who of the two children would follow into
their father's footsteps, the father specifically didn't want to be
part of the final decision making process. Instead, for a whole
year, the entire team, including the two siblings, pondered on what
would be best for the company. For them it was neither about ego
nor about clever career moves. It was simply about finding a
solution that would be best for Champagne Taittinger; that would be
best to keep a tradition alive and thriving. This story says so
much about a family and about a region and its mystified product.
It says so much about what champagne is about. The Champagne region
is a tiny cosmos built on history, values, tradition, and trust. It
goes beyond family although the families that founded the big
houses and cultivated champagne over hundreds of years are at the
core of this cosmos. It's important to understand that all the
champagne houses on their own can't cover the demand of grapes for
their production just by using the produce from their own
vineyards. It's just not enough. They depend on a large network of
small independent growers in the region. There are contracts yet if
the growers don't want to cooperate with a champagne house, the
champagne house won't survive. They both depend on each other,
which is fruitful and only works when their cooperation is built on
trust, respect, and the same values. Land is precious and limited -
and a UNESCO world heritage since 2015. It's one of the most
expensive in the wine world. € 1 million per acre, only topped by
Bordeaux's and Burgundy's top appellations. When Taittinger was
sold by the extended family in 2005 - a step Vitalie's father
didn't agree with - it only took him a year to have the support
from a local bank and the backup from the growers to buy the
company back and be assured that he would manage to keep producing
outstanding champagne. So when Vitalie joined the company in 2007
quite spontaneously, after studying art and establishing a life
independent of Taittinger, she was aware of the responsibility
given into her hands but also about the chance she got to keep the
story of her family's champagne alive so that one day she could
pass it on to the next generation. For this podcast episode,
Vitalie shared a recipe with me that's both cozy and sumptuous.
Squash Soup with Chestnut Purée and Scallop Carpaccio with Spinach
Pesto and Caviar - easy to prepare in advance and perfect for a New
Year's Eve dinner! You can find all the blog posts about the
podcast episodes including my guests' recipes on meikepeters.com
under 'Meet in Your Kitchen'. INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/meetinmykitchenpodcast GUEST:
https://www.taittinger.com RECIPE:
https://www.meikepeters.com/meet-in-your-kitchen-champagne-scallops-squash-soup-with-vitalie-taittinger
MUSIC: Martin Stumpf SOUND MIX: Kraatz Studios
https://kraatzstudios.com MEIKE PETERS: Newsletter:
https://www.meikepeters.com/subscribe-2 Blog:
https://www.meikepeters.com Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/eatinmykitchen Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/eatinmykitchen Cookbooks:
https://www.meikepeters.com/cookbooks
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