In 1914, Pierre Taittinger was a young cavalry officer serving in the First World War. He was assigned to the ranks of Général Castelnau, under Maréchal Joffre, who had established his headquarters at the Château de la Marquetterie, two miles from Epernay near the Marne River. Captivated by the lovely eighteenth century residence, the young Taittinger was determined to purchase it should the opportunity arise, as it later would.
The vineyards of the Château de la Marquetterie were already quite well known prior to their ownership, beginning in 1326, by the Order of Saint-Pierre aux Monts, whose abbey was located a few miles up the Marne River at Chalons. The cultivation of these and other vineyards on the slopes of Pierry was the primary livelihood of the order, which built a cuverie among the vines where Frère Jean Oudart would later conduct his experiments on the nature of sparkling wines. The vineyards of La Marquetterie, planted in the traditional white and black grapes of Champagne, are named for their resemblance at harvest to the checkerboard-like squares of light and dark wood referred to as "marquetry" in the cabinet-maker's art. When the old cuverie fell to ruins in 1750, the present Louis XV château was constructed on its site, and took the name of La Marquetterie, after its vineyards.
Around 1770, the Château de la Marquetterie was purchased by a Mr. Cazotte, Mayor of Pierry, whose dinner gatherings were frequented by the prominent literati and politically influential figures of the day. The French Revolution brought a violent end to his ownership: Cazotte was guillotined in 1793 and La Marquetterie seized by the state.
In 1932, Pierre Taittinger kept his promise to purchase the Château de la Marquetterie and its vineyards. The previous year, in 1931, he had acquired the venerable champagne firm of Forest- Fourneaux, founded in 1734 and the third oldest champagne house in existence at the time. He began to restructure the firm and to expand its vineyard holdings in some of the finest producing areas of Champagne. Champagne Taittinger is today proprietor of approximately 752 acres of vines among which are included parcels in the one hundred percent-rated villages of Cramant and Avize in the Côte des Blancs; and Bouzy, Mailly, Ambonnay and Verzenay in the Montagne de Reims. The Taittinger estate is one of the three most extensive in the Champagne district, and the firm's major holdings in Chardonnay vineyards are the physical expression of the Taittinger philosophy and style.
Pierre Taittinger's philosophy, while audacious for its time, proved him to be a visionary well ahead of his time. An accomplished and respected gastronome, he was among those who, during the inter- war years, foresaw changing public preferences in cuisine away from the complex and often heavy traditional preparations which had long dominated the classic culinary arts. The evolution he set in motion centered on two concepts: lightness and naturalness. These entirely compatible ideas proved, over time, to be more in keeping than even at first foreseen with a healthful lifestyle and an increasingly sophisticated public palate demanding the finest natural ingredients to be subtly complimented, rather than masked, by their preparations. Pierre Taittinger recognized that the time had also come for an evolution in the concept of Champagne.
Economic conditions acted as a catalyst to this change. Vast areas of the champenois vineyards destroyed during the war had to be replanted. Former primary export markets had been temporarily interrupted: the United States under the restrictions of prohibition; Germany under the economic burdens of reparation; Russia under the weight of revolution. Pierre Taittinger saw the opportunity to reshape the tastes of the traditional champagne clientele who had subscribed to the old, "Belle- Epoque" style champagnes, and took it. He wagered the market would turn away from heavily dosed, sweet champagnes in favor of natural, elegant wines expressive of their origin just as it would reject the affront of dense, cloying sauces to pristine foods.
Pierre Taittinger infused his winemaking with the same philosophy that had inspired his gastronomy. He set the standard for lightness and delicacy that was to become the hallmark of the Taittinger style. With his legendary master blender, Roger Lénique, he set most exacting criteria for the quality of Taittinger's wines. He used only fine, old champagnes in the dosage rather than brandies or fortified wines. He further proscribed production exclusively to fully dry, brut champagnes requiring flawless wines of the highest quality obtained solely from the juice from the delicate first pressing of the fruit. He ultimately attained the epitome of delicacy and elegance he desired in his cuvées through the proportionately higher use of the Chardonnay variety, the most costly of the champenois grapes. The most perfect expression of the Taittinger style was embodied in the creation of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, a "tête de cuvée," prestige quality champagne made entirely from the Chardonnay grape.
In 1983, Champagne Taittinger introduced the revolutionary, naturally allied concept of the Taittinger Collection series, uniting art and champagne in the design of a series of special bottles. The first of these, released with the superb 1978 vintage, was a striking gold bottle commissioned to Hungarian optical artist Victor Vasarely; the second, with the 1981 vintage, to Niçois painter- sculptor Arman; the 1982 and 1983 bottles were created, respectively, by André Masson, master of the Surrealist movement; and Maria-Elena Vieira da Silva, Portuguese artist of light and of the stained glass window. The bottle created for the 1985 vintage was the first to be commissioned to an American artist, Roy Lichtenstein, the "enfant terrible" of the pop art movement. Lichtenstein was followed in the 1986 vintage by German abstract artist Hans Hartung and in the 1988 vintage by the Japanese painter Imai. Corneille was the next celebrated Dutch artist to decorate the 1990 collection followed by Matta, abstract expressionism Chilean artist, with the 1992 vintage. The 10th collection, with the 1998 vintage, was created by Zao Wou-Ki influenced by abstract expressionism as well by impressionism. Finally, in 2007, the Taittinger Collection is rich of an eleventh Collection bottle, with the 2000 vintage, created by Rauschenberg, an American painter who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from abstract expressionism to Pop Art.
These exquisite bottles continue to be produced in great vintage years, and perpetuate Champagne Taittinger's long standing association with the arts as patrons and benefactors.
Champagne Taittinger's cellars are situated in Reims, in the underground crayères once belonging to the 13th century Abbey of Saint-Nicaise. Taittinger is also proprietor of the former residence of the Comtes de Champagne, completed around 1230, a majestic edifice in the heart of the old quarter of Reims. In tribute to its founder, each year the firm sponsors the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger, acknowledged to be the most difficult practical and creative test of a young chef's culinary skills. Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger took over for his late father, Claude, as Président Directeur Général of Champagne Taittinger, overseeing its operations not only in France but in over 120 export markets where Champagne Taittinger is distributed.
In the year 1048, Thibaud I, a nobleman of the county of Brie, took control of a small fortress called Provins, near what is now the city of Reims. This fortress became the first residence of the Counts of Champagne, who under Thibaud I and his heirs established control over the palatinate, or province, then known as Champagne et Brie, which they governed by proxy of the king. Thibaud I established the priory of Saint Ayuel at the foot of his fortress walls for the Benedictine monks who had come from Troyes. Around the priory, beginning in 1090 under Thibaud II, the Champagne fairs were held each May and September. As the fame of these fairs spread, they drew merchants from all of Europe to Provins, fostering industry, prosperity and urban development.
Thibaud IV was born in 1201, posthumous son of Thibaud III and Blanche de Navarre. His inheritance of the county of Champagne was challenged by his cousin, Alix, Queen of Cyprus, who was daughter of Thibaud III's older brother, Henri II. The dispute was decided in Thibaud's favor only on the condition that he pay Alix not only a large lump sum of money but an annuity as well.
Due to the poor condition of his finances, Thibaud was unable to settle with his cousin, and King Louis IX offered to settle in his stead in return for ownership of the counties of Blois, Chartres and Sancerre. Thibaud was left no recourse.
Upon the death in 1234 of Thibaud's heirless uncle, Sanche Le Fort of Navarre, Thibaud IV became King of Navarre, inheriting the substantial wealth of its treasury. He sought to repurchase the counties Louis IX had exacted in return for payments to Alix, but the king refused. Thibaud devised a scheme to attack Louis, but learning of the plan, the king mobilized his troops against Thibaud before Thibaud was able to strike. To prevent the conquest of his counties, Thibaud called upon Pope Gregory IV to intercede.
Gregory IV forced the Louis to make peace with Thibaud, who in return for the favor was obliged to depart on a crusade to the Orient in 1239. During his absence, the Pope guaranteed the safety of his counties from conquest. Thibaud's crusade was to last two years, ending in his defeat at the Battle of Gaza in 1241. He returned to Champagne by way of Cyprus, with the intention of making peace with Queen Alix. The happy result of their meeting was the Queen's departing gifts to her cousin: a crimson rose and a young vine plant. The rose was to become the red rose of Lancaster; facing the white rose of York, it was the bloody symbol of the Wars of the Roses. The vine was the Chardonnay vine, which Thibaud planted on the slopes of Champagne, where it has flourished ever since.
If the Chardonnay vine is the most immortal of Thibaud IV's legacies, others endure after nearly eight centuries. The majestic residence of the Counts of Champagne, completed under Thibaud's auspices circa 1230, is today the property of Champagne Taittinger, and remains one of the most striking edifices of the old section of Reims. The seal of Thibaud, which bears the legend, "Seal of Count Thibaud; the Palatinates of Champagne and Brie," is replicated on each bottle of Taittinger Champagne; and in his honor, Champagne Taittinger's two prestige cuvées have been give the names of Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs and Comtes de Champagne Rosé.
The Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger
History and ConceptIn 1967, Claude Taittinger, in honor of his father Pierre Taittinger, created the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger. Pierre Taittinger, a great epicure, was for much of his professional life a principal figure within the culinary organizations of the Académie des Gastronomes and member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.
Long before the advent of nouvelle cuisine, the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger had established as its goal the recognition of the talents of young professional chefs dedicated to the subtlety and delicacy of French cuisine, and whose culinary creativity expressed innovation within the classic principles of the culinary art. Today, the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger is recognized as the preeminent international culinary competition. It is, in effect, the only competition to encompass simultaneously the following four criteria:
1. Its jury of judges is comprised only of professionals belonging to the principal culinary associations of chefs: the Association des Maîtres-Cuisiniers de France, the Société des Cuisiniers de Paris, the Académie Culinaire, the Société Suisse des Cuisiniers, Relais et Châteaux and other bodies of this stature.
2. It is not restricted to French chefs alone. This competition, on the contrary, has opened its doors to chefs of other nationalities, distinguishing it from a number of very highly regarded competitions which are nevertheless consecrated exclusively to the chefs of a single country.
3. It is carried out in two phases: a practical semi-final following a selection of competitors based on written recipes; and a practical final competition which takes place in Paris during which preparations based on a list of ingredients issued the evening before the competition must be conceived and executed the following morning in a four-hour period.
4. Finally, since 1985, after the revision of its rules, it is alone among the great culinary competitions to accord a place of such major importance to creativity and imagination. The chef who has triumphed over each of problems posed him in this competition will have shown not only that he has mastered the principles of great, traditional cuisine, but also developed his talents as a creator.
The scope of this competition customarily receives 400 to 500 entrants annually from ten nations: Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and Japan. It should be noted that on a number of ocassions, the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger has been captured by chefs not of French nationality or by chefs of French origin working in adopted countries. Thus, the objectives adopted by the competition's founders have far exceeded their original scope: the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger now appoints one chef whose role for one year is to act as the quintessential ambassador to the world on behalf of the French culinary arts.
| Three Generations of Gastronomes |
Pierre-Alexandre Taittinger (1852 - 1921)
Mayor of Saint-Denis; Administrator of the National Company of Railcars; noted gastronome, author of works on the great cheeses of France Pierre-Charles Taittinger (1887 - 1965)
President of the City Council of Paris; Deputy of Paris; member of the Académie des Gastronomes; member of the Administrative Council of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs; purchased one of the oldest Champagne houses founded in 1734, to which he gave his name Guy Taittinger (1918 - 1978)
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Worms; founder of the Société des Hôtels Concorde François Taittinger (1921 - 1960)
Managing Director of Champagne Taittinger; co-founder of the Order des Côteaux de Champagne | Jean Taittinger
Former Cabinet member; former Deputy-Mayor of Reims; President and Chief Executive Officer of the Société du Louvre (proprietor of the Grand Véfour restaurant) and of the Société des Hôtels Concorde Pierre-Christian Taittinger
Former Cabinet member; former President of the City Council of Paris, currently Vice-President of the Senate, Counsellor of Paris; former President of the Lutétia and Terminus Saint-Lazare Hotels; member of the Académie des Gastronomes Claude Taittinger
President and Chief Executive Officer of Champagne Taittinger; member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs; creator of the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger in 1967; author of "Thibaud le Chansonnier, Comte de Champagne" and "Monsieur Cazotte Monte a l'Echafaud" (Librarie Académique Perrin) |
