Taittinger

Taittinger is a Champagne producer headquartered in Reims, in France’s Champagne region. Its history reaches back to 1734, when Jacques Fourneaux established a wine business that later became the foundation of the house. The Taittinger family acquired the Champagne operation in 1932, when Pierre Taittinger purchased the house then known as Forest-Fourneaux. Under family leadership, the business developed a distinctive identity centered on long cellar aging, a relatively high proportion of Chardonnay, and a portfolio spanning non-vintage, vintage, rosé, blanc de blancs, and prestige Champagnes. The company’s best-known cuvée is Taittinger Brut Réserve, a non-vintage Champagne generally built from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. The house is particularly associated with Chardonnay, which is prominent in its prestige wine Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, made from Chardonnay grown in the Côte des Blancs and released only in selected years. Other important expressions include vintage Champagne, rosé, demi-sec, and limited or special bottlings. Taittinger also produces sparkling wines under related labels and has maintained a substantial export presence. Taittinger’s reputation is based on a combination of family ownership, Reims cellars, supply from vineyards and growers across Champagne, and a premium hospitality and cultural positioning. The brand has traditionally emphasized elegance, freshness, finesse, and the contribution of Chardonnay rather than an overtly heavy or power-focused style. Its extensive underground chalk cellars provide the environment for bottle aging and are an important part of the brand’s heritage and visitor experience. The business changed hands outside the family in 2006, when the Taittinger group, including the Champagne house, was sold to Starwood Capital Group. The Champagne business was subsequently reacquired in 2007 by a consortium associated with the Taittinger family and French investment interests, restoring family control of the house. The wider Taittinger family business has interests in luxury hospitality and related assets, but Champagne Taittinger operates as a distinct wine business. Today, Taittinger sells through specialist wine merchants, restaurants, hotels, duty-free channels, and distributors in numerous international markets. It remains a privately controlled French Champagne brand rather than a listed company. Its commercial identity combines an established Reims heritage with premium positioning, high-profile hospitality associations, cultural events, and continued investment in vineyard sourcing and cellar-aged wines.

Taittinger’s origins are traced to 1734, when Jacques Fourneaux established a wine business in Reims. The enterprise later became associated with the Forest-Fourneaux name and developed within the Champagne trade, whose commercial model was increasingly shaped by bottle fermentation, regional appellations, and the rise of branded champagne houses. In 1932, Pierre Taittinger acquired the Champagne business. The purchase established the Taittinger family’s long association with the house and gave the brand the name under which it became internationally recognized. Pierre Taittinger was a businessman and former politician who also developed a broader family group with interests in hospitality and luxury assets. Champagne remained the family group’s flagship wine activity. During the twentieth century, Taittinger expanded its production, distribution, and international reputation. The house built its identity around the chalk cellars beneath Reims and the extended maturation of its wines. It also developed a style in which Chardonnay played a highly visible role. This emphasis became especially clear in Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, the prestige cuvée made from Chardonnay and released selectively in strong vintage years. The house also established Brut Réserve as its principal non-vintage expression, supported by a portfolio of vintage, rosé, and other cuvées. Taittinger’s cellar and architectural heritage became important parts of its public identity. The Reims site connects the brand to the region’s historic chalk undergrounds, where bottles can mature in stable conditions. Like other major Champagne producers, Taittinger combines grapes from its own or controlled sources with fruit purchased from growers and suppliers across the appellation. This approach enables the house to maintain volume and consistency while preserving access to high-quality vineyard material. A major ownership transition occurred in 2006, when Starwood Capital Group acquired the Taittinger group. The transaction separated the Champagne business from the family’s previous corporate structure and temporarily ended direct family control. In 2007, Champagne Taittinger was reacquired by a consortium associated with the Taittinger family and French investment interests. The return to family ownership became a central part of the brand’s modern narrative, reinforcing its positioning as an independent, family-controlled Champagne house. After the reacquisition, Taittinger continued to develop its international distribution and premium hospitality presence. Its wines appeared in restaurants, hotels, specialist merchants, airline and duty-free channels, and corporate and cultural settings. The brand’s communication has generally linked Champagne with celebration, gastronomy, art, design, and hospitality rather than relying solely on mass-market advertising. In the twenty-first century, the house has continued to manage the balance between heritage and changing market conditions. Champagne production is regulated by appellation rules, vintage variation, harvest constraints, and environmental pressures. Taittinger’s responses have included maintaining reserve-wine blending for non-vintage Champagne, using long aging to build texture and complexity, and highlighting site and varietal character in prestige cuvées. Its portfolio remains centered on Champagne, with Brut Réserve as the broadest commercial expression and Comtes de Champagne as the principal prestige reference. Taittinger is currently a privately controlled French Champagne brand headquartered in Reims. It operates internationally while retaining a strong connection to the Champagne appellation and to the Taittinger family name. The company’s present identity rests on three linked assets: an origin in the eighteenth-century Reims wine trade, family stewardship restored after the 2006–2007 ownership change, and a Chardonnay-oriented premium style represented most clearly by Comtes de Champagne.

1. 2020Next-generation leadership

   Clovis Taittinger assumed a leading executive role as the business continued under family ownership.

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2. 2007Family control restored

   A consortium associated with the Taittinger family reacquired Champagne Taittinger.

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3. 2006Sale to Starwood Capital Group

   The wider Taittinger group was sold to Starwood Capital Group, ending the family’s direct control of the Champagne business for a period.

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4. 1952Comtes de Champagne introduced

   The house introduced Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, which became its signature prestige Chardonnay cuvée.

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5. 1932Pierre Taittinger acquires the Champagne house

   Pierre Taittinger purchased the Forest-Fourneaux Champagne business, beginning the family’s direct association with the brand.

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6. 1734Wine business established in Reims

   Jacques Fourneaux established the wine business that later became the foundation of the Taittinger Champagne house.

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Premium and luxury Champagne house emphasizing Chardonnay, elegance, finesse, long cellar aging, family heritage, and international hospitality and cultural associations.

• Brut RéserveNon-vintage Champagne

  Taittinger’s principal non-vintage Champagne and the central volume cuvée in its portfolio. It combines Chardonnay with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier from multiple harvests, using reserve wines to maintain a consistent house style. The wine is positioned as an elegant, broadly versatile Champagne suitable for aperitif service, hospitality, and food pairing.

• Comtes de Champagne Blanc de BlancsPrestige vintage Champagne1952

  The house’s flagship prestige cuvée, made entirely from Chardonnay and released only in selected years. It is associated with Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte des Blancs and extended cellar maturation. Comtes de Champagne is used to express Taittinger’s Chardonnay-led style, with emphasis on precision, freshness, length, and aging potential.

• Prestige RoséRosé Champagne

  A premium rosé Champagne combining red-wine character from Pinot Noir with the freshness and structure associated with the Taittinger house style. It extends the brand into celebratory and gastronomic occasions where color, fruit expression, and richer food compatibility are important.

• Prélude Grands CrusGrand Cru Champagne

  A cuvée made from Grand Cru fruit and designed to show the relationship between Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It occupies a position between the house’s core non-vintage offering and its highest prestige wines, providing a more site-focused expression while retaining the brand’s emphasis on finesse and balance.

• Vintage ChampagneVintage Champagne

  Taittinger’s vintage wines are produced from a single harvest when the house considers the year suitable for a vintage expression. Longer maturation and vintage-specific blending allow the wines to reflect the conditions of the growing season while preserving the house’s preference for freshness and elegance.

• Cultural and hospitality partnerships

  International

  Taittinger has promoted the brand through associations with restaurants, hotels, gastronomy, art, design, and cultural hospitality. These activities support its premium positioning and connect Champagne consumption with celebration and cultural occasions.

  Outcome. The partnerships reinforce Taittinger’s image as a luxury hospitality and celebratory brand.

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• 2007Reacquire Champagne TaittingerM&A

  The family sought to restore control of the Champagne business after the previous year’s sale of the wider group.

  What changed. A consortium associated with the Taittinger family and French investment interests acquired Champagne Taittinger.

  Aftermath. The house returned to family-associated ownership and continued as an independent private Champagne producer.

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• 2006Sell the wider Taittinger groupM&A

  The Taittinger family’s broader corporate group was being reorganized and sold, creating a change in ownership for the Champagne business.

  What changed. The group was sold to Starwood Capital Group.

  Aftermath. The Champagne house left direct family control temporarily and was later reacquired by a family-associated consortium.

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• 2020Leadership passes to the next Taittinger generation

  Clovis Taittinger took a leading executive role at the family-controlled Champagne house as Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger moved into a chairman-level position.

  Leadership change
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• 2007Taittinger family regains control of the Champagne house

  Following the 2006 sale of the wider Taittinger group to Starwood Capital Group, the Champagne business was acquired by a consortium connected with the Taittinger family and returned to family control.

  M&A
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1. Taittinger
2. Champagne Taittinger official website