Дом шампанского Крюг: История и традиции

French champagne brand

Krug Champagne is a Champagne house founded by Joseph Krug in 1843. It is based principally in Reims, the main city in France's Champagne region and is one of the famous Champagne houses that formed part of the Grandes marques. Today the house is majority owned by the multinational conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S. E. whose portfolio includes other well known wine brands such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Château d'Yquem and Ruinart. Despite LVMH's majority ownership, the Krug family is still actively involved in all the key decisions of the house but does not manage the day to day operations.

Joseph Krug founded the House of Krug in 1843. He was born Johann Joseph Krug, a butcher's son, in Mainz, on the Rhine, in 1800, at a time when the city was part of the Napoleonic Empire. Having dispensed with the name Johann, he left Mainz in 1824 and by 1834 he was in Paris. Germans were then much in demand in France as accountants and book keepers and, as such, Joseph joined Champagne Jacquesson in Châlons sur Marne. He spent eight years with Jacquesson, with his work taking him beyond accountancy as he went on the road around Europe testing the market and assessing criticism from wine sellers and customers. He learned about composition and taste so that by 1840 he already seems to have been blending Champagne for at least one other house. In 1841 he married Emma Anne Jaunay, the daughter of a French hotelier based in London's Leicester Square, and an English mother. The following year their son, Paul Krug, was born. In 1842 came the move to Reims and, following a year of negotiations, Krug et Cie. was founded in 1843 with sleeping partner Hyppolite de Vivès. Joseph was also fluent in French, English and German and spoke some Russian, putting the company in position to exploit key overseas markets. Joseph died in 1866 and was succeeded by his son Paul Krug, who had been trained by his father for the business in France and abroad. Joseph had laid the foundations and under the supervision of Paul the House was established as a grande marque. By the 1880s the prestige of Krug was acknowledged in the United Kingdom, then the primary overseas market for Champagne. In 1962 Henri Krug, the son of Paul II, joined the management, as did his brother Remi three years later. Their arrival was followed by a series of innovations, including extensions in the range of Champagnes. Henri Krug became president of the family company in 1977. In 1979, for the first time, a graduate winemaker joined the House. In January 1999, Krug was sold by Rémy Cointreau to LVMH. In 2002, Henri Krug stepped down, naming his son Olivier to replace him.

Krug utilizes all three Champagne varieties in their wines, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Pinot Meunier. For their two single vineyard vintages, Krug Clos du Mesnil is made in the Blanc de blancs style, completely from Chardonnay, while Krug Clos d'Ambonnay is made exclusively from Pinot noir. The winemaking process at Krug begins with the individual selection of each plot of vines and continues with the initial vinification of the grapes from each plot in wooden casks, which – unlike tanks – are small enough to give the House the flexibility to hold a single plot's wine and therefore avoid pre mature blending. In the event that a plot's wine is not up to the required level, it will leave the house as a bulk, never again to be labelled a Krug base wine. During this period, clarification occurs naturally from the cool temperature of the cellar given the coming winter, as does a micro oxygenation process from the use of natural containers, making the wine more resistant to oxygen over time. Finally, between December and January, the wine is drawn off into small stainless steel vats. From here, depending on the decisions of Krug's tasting committee, the wines will either contribute to that year's assemblage or be stored in steel vats in the House's library of 150 reserve wines to be used in the blend of a future Krug Grande Cuvée and Krug Rosé.

Over a period of five months in autumn and winter, the base wines and the reserve wines are tasted by the members of the tasting committee, composed of five permanent members (Olivier Krug, representing the sixth generation of the Krug family; Eric Lebel, Krug cellar master and winemaker; Julie Cavil and Raphaele Leon Grillon, who make up the Krug winemaking team; and Laurent Halbin, head of winemaking operations) and two members present according to their availability (Rémi and Maggie Henriquez, President and CEO of Krug). At each session, between 15 and 18 samples are blind tasted, commented on and scored. During the tasting period, wine from each plot is carefully referenced, tasted at least two or three times and given a mark out of 20. By the end of December, the tasting committee establishes what Krug calls a "character sketch" of the year and begins tasting the 150 reserve wines from which it will draw the missing elements needed to re create the character of Krug Grande Cuvée year after year. In the spring, a second tasting session of wines from the year reveals how the wines have evolved over the winter period. Eric Lebel then proposes up to three blends for the Champagnes of that year, with each member of the committee having one vote. Once the blend has been decided, the House prepares for bottling which takes place once a year between April and May.

All Krug Champagnes are bottled during a single session, thirty weeks after the harvest. Once bottled, they are kept in the House's cellars in Reims. Krug characterizes this final stage of its winemaking process by very extended aging on the lees. Indeed, Krug's main champagne, Krug Grande Cuvée stays in the cellars for at least six years, Krug Rosé for five years, and Krug Vintage, Krug Clos du Mesnil and Krug Clos d'Ambonnay for at least ten years.

The House owns 30% of the vineyards that produce its wines – a relatively high percentage in Champagne making – with 20 hectares of vines in Ambonnay, Aÿ, Le Mesnil and Trépail. It obtains the rest of its grapes from long term contract growers for a total of 250 plots selected from the 270,000 listed in France's Champagne region. Seventy to one hundred winegrowers currently work with Krug, Additionally, because Krug preserves the individual character of each wine, winegrowers are able to taste each of the wines selected from their plots and follow their evolution over time in the event that their wines are selected as Krug reserve wines.

In 1971, Rémi and Henri Krug purchased six hectares of vines around the renowned Chardonnay village of Mesnil sur Oger. Upon their initial visit, they discovered that their purchase included a walled vineyard of a mere 1.85 acres located in the heart of the village and bearing an inscription: "In the year 1698, this wall was built by Claude Jannin and Pierre Dehée Metoen and in the same year the vines were planted by Gaspard Jannin, son of Claude." Krug stresses that the wall and unusual location in the center of the village create a micro climate that accords a unique character to its grapes. It was for this reason that the House was inspired to devote a Champagne to a single plot for the first time in its history, resulting in Krug Clos du Mesnil 1979, presented in 1986.

Following Krug Clos du Mesnil, Rémi and Henri Krug turned their attention to Pinot noir grapes, in particular those from Ambonnay, a grand cru known for its Pinot noir that had been a main source of supply for Krug since its founding. In 1991, after seven years of searching, they found a walled plot of just 0.68 hectares on the edge the village, on the south eastern slope of the Montagne de Reims. Like the Clos du Mesnil, the plot was also surrounded by protective walls, which date back to the year 1766, although in this case the vineyard itself was not planted until the 20th century. Krug purchased the land in 1994 and released its first vintage – Krug Clos d'Ambonnay 1995 – in 2007.

LVMH, Paris, selected and company new york, to create a global communications campaign for Krug Champagne. The campaign featured Jean Nouvel, Anjelica Huston, Buzz Aldrin, and David Lynch. The campaign won a gold award at the World Luxury Awards in Monaco.

In 2011, Krug launched a community of Krug aficionados who share a love for Krug. The House created program offers a platform for stories, inspirations and favorite getaways and is open to the public via registration on the Krug. com website. The program features member profiles and their collaborations with Krug, such as a drawing created by Italian illustrator Gianluca Biscalchin following Krug's Grand Musée de Beaux Arts event, the Krug Room at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong from chef Uwe Opocensky, or a series of photographs by Dutch artist Scarlett Hooft Graafland, commissioned by Krug. For Krug Grande Cuvées, the KRUG ID reveals the oldest and youngest wines that went into the making of the bottle, as well as the details and challenges of that particular season. For other Krug cuvees, the KRUG ID recounts the story of the year, the objectives behind the creation of the specific bottle or the behavior of the plots. The Krug application also pairs different Krug champagnes with types of music.

In 2011, Krug, with the Silkstone events agency, shot a marketing campaign at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. Festival goers were told they were attending a birthday party, but were filmed and photographed as part of this campaign. The Burning Man organization posted an exposé on their blog, rebuking Krug for breaking many rules of the festival both in letter and spirit, including product placement, photography for commercial gain and leaving behind a mess. Members of the Burning Man community denounced the campaign and Krug in various social media.