Michel Drappier, winemaker and owner of Drappier Champagne, pairs Indian food with handpicked vintage from the Drappier cellar. By Devi Singh
Based out of the Urville region of Champagne in France, the Drappier house was founded in 1808, producing both vintage and non-vintage cuvée as well as Grande Sendrée. Although the vines in Urville were originally planted by the Romans 2000 years ago, it was Saint Bernard, founder of Clairvaux Abbey, who had the cellars built in 1152. The ancestral tree of the Drappier family has its roots in the 17th century, with the birth of Remy Drappier in 1604.
The Drappier champagne is a family owned business and is currently being run by Michel Drappier, the seventh generation of the family. “It’s one of the few champagne companies which are family owned. It’s 99.9 percent owned by my family,” said Michel Drappier.
Drappier Champagne is known for using significantly less sulfur in their wine than other champagne producers. One of their cuvée, the Brut Nature Non Dosé Sans Soufre, contains no added sulfur. “We decided to go organic 25 years ago and make everything in the wine making process that will keep its soul. We do not filter and use very little sulphites. We are the lowest sulfur user in the whole Champagne region. The use of sulphites in Drappier champagne is only 25 milligram which is very low compared to 60 to 120 milligram that is normally used in other champagnes,” Drappier told us.
Drappier is considered one of the finest boutique champagne producers in the world because of the cellars where they store the wine, which are among the oldest and the most extensive in Europe. “We are artisans and a family house where we like to produce champagnes which are different and unique. Not everybody likes it. But the idea is to reach out to the people who would like to drink this particular kind of champagne and I hope we are reaching to the niche consumers in India too,” Drappier said.
The historic Champagne House which came to France in 1808 under Napoleon used to supply wood for the ovens of the Champagne crystal glassworks in Bayel. In May 2011 Michel Drappier was also named Commandeur of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, a champagne wine fraternity whose mission is to contribute to the dissemination of essential information concerning the wines of Champagne.
Talking about the promotion of the brand in India he said, “We are not seen as a very flashy brand. The way we want to promote our brand is through wine dinners for people to discover the aesthetics of Drappier. It was my fourth food pairing dinner and we only had champagne from the appetisers to the desserts and it was a good surprise. The amount of spice in the food need to be just ideal as you can’t go overboard with spices. Champagne won’t go too well with over spicy food,” explained Drappier.
Champagne is first of all a passion, and all of Michel’s life. He has three wonderful kids and travels extensively, for both work and leisure.