Henriot (Champagne)
Encyclopedia
Henriot is a Champagne producer based in the Reims
region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1808, produces both vintage
and non-vintage cuvee
. Henriot has been under family ownership since 1994 when Joseph Henriot left Veuve Cliquot to manage the estate.
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1808, produces both vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
and non-vintage cuvee
Cuvee
Cuvée is a French wine term derived from cuve, meaning vat or tank. The term cuvée is used with several different meanings, more or less based on the concept of a tank of wine put to some purpose:...
. Henriot has been under family ownership since 1994 when Joseph Henriot left Veuve Cliquot to manage the estate.
History
- 16th century: The Henriot family settled in ChampagneChampagne, FranceChampagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, now best known for the sparkling white wine that bears its name.Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 100 miles east of Paris. The cities of Troyes, Reims, and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area...
. - 1794: Nicolas Simon Henriot, from a bourgeois local family who had been in the cloth business since the 16th century, married Apolline Godinot, niece of the Abbé Godinot, an eminent scholar whose work had contributed to advances in viticulture. This marriage sealed a fruitful family alliance which was to give birth to champagne Henriot.
- 1808: The House of Henriot was officially founded by Apolline Henriot, widow of Nicolas Simon Henriot. She undertook the task of making available the very private Champagne Henriot in her father's vineyard in Bouzy and sold her wines under the name "Veuve Henriot Ainé".
- 1850: A supplier to the great courts. The House of Henriot was granted the royal Warrant of official supplier to the court by the King of Holland. This was confirmed in 1881 by his Highness Prince Fredrick of Holland, a very valuable award.
- 1851: Ernest Henriot, grandson of Apolline Henriot, persuaded by his sister, Amélie Henriot, became associated with his brother in law, Charles Camille Heidsieck and created the brand Charles Heidsieck. Ernest continued to manage his own business in his own name.
- 1875: Ernest ended his partnership with Charles and devoted his time to the Henriot brand by creating Henriot et Cie.
- 1880: Paul Henriot, nephew of Ernest Henriot, married Marie Marguet. The House’s vineyards were by now of considerable size, spread over the best crus of the Côte des Blancs, the Grande Vallée de la Marne and the Montagne de Reims.
- 22 August 1905: A Royal Warrant was granted to Alexandre Henriot by his Apostolic, Imperial, Royal Majesty, François-Joseph II, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary “for as long as he will conduct his business honestly and personally”. This warrant authorized him to reproduce the supreme arms of the Habsburgs.
- Beginning of the 20th century : As everywhere in Europe, the Champagne vineyard was devastated by phylloxeraPhylloxeraGrape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
. - 1914–1918 : Another disaster, the first world war destroyed Reims and the region.
- 1926 : Etienne Henriot, son of Paul, who had trained as an agronomist, took over the management of the House. Very active in replanting and improving the vineyards of Champagne which were having difficulty recovering from the phylloxera crisis, he enlarged the House’s estate through repeated purchases.
- 1930 : Although the local economy was heavily affected by the crisis, Etienne Henriot succeeded in developing the House’s business which he opened up to new export markets, until his premature death in 1957.
- 1957 : Death of Etienne Henriot (1889–1957). His son, Joseph Henriot, also a trained agronomist, gradually took over the reins of the family company from 1962. Joseph will remain as head of the family business and subsequently President of Charles Heidsieck, then Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, and continued to spread the renown of Champagne Henriot both in France and in export markets far and wide.
- 1999 : Stanislas Henriot, son of Joseph Henriot, gradually took over the management of the House. He was appointed President in 2004.
- 2010 : Stanislas Henriot has resigned as president of the family’s Champagne business after over a decade. The resignation has surprised many in Champagne, given that Henriot has overseen a transformation of the business and the brand, which had been relatively unknown outside France. He also set up a subsidiary in the USA. He was also Chairman of Lejay Lagoute the famous Dijon based liquorist.