Champagne Taittinger has announced today the launch of Domaine Evremond. Working with UK wine company Hatch Mansfield and private investors, this unique collaboration marks the first time that a Champagne house has invested in the UK with the intention of producing premium English Sparkling Wines.

The team has purchased 69 hectares (171 acres) of farmland at Stone Stile Farm in Kent through leading property advisors Strutt & Parker. Forty hectares of this will be planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines to produce premium English Sparkling Wine.

Nigel Porter, Partner at Strutt & Parker, said: “2014 was a record year for English wine with around 6.3 million bottles produced.  Based on the lastest growth figures from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, this is set to double, with a staggering 12 million bottles of English wine per year expected by 2020. We manage many farms and estates in the south of England which have diversified into vineyards over recent years. Our cool climate - now with just enough sunshine hours to fully ripen the grapes - and our chalky soil, create some of the best sites for producing grapes which are ideal for sparkling wine. It is for this reason that we have increasingly been involved with the sale and purchase of land in the South of England for viticultural use. With English sparkling wine looking set to grow in popularity, we are positively effervescent that Taittinger has made such a fantastic investment into this exciting new industry.”

Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, President of Champagne Taittinger, said: “We have dreamt for a number of years of working with our dear friends in the UK to create a special Franco/British project. Built on the values of friendship, this venture will create something special to show our appreciation of the UK’s support for Champagne – it is Champagne Taittinger’s number one export market. We are very excited that this dream is now becoming a reality.”

The land, a former apple farm, is near Chilham in Kent, close to Canterbury and Faversham. The plots to be planted are a maximum of 80 metres above sea level, with chalk soil and south-facing slopes, creating an ideal terroir (soil, microclimate and topography) to plant high quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines.

No wine will be produced until the plots are transformed into vineyards, after which time premium English Sparkling Wine will be made using ‘domaine’ fruit from the farm.

Domaine Evremond is a venture between Champagne Taittinger, Hatch Mansfield Ltd,  and friends - reflecting the independent, family focused philosophies of both companies. Domaine Evremond takes its name from Charles de Saint-Evremond (1614-1703), a Frenchman and the first true ambassador for Champagne, who fuelled its popularity in England during the court of King Charles II. A poet, epicurean and literary critic, he was buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. A passionate historian, Pierre-Emmanuel named this new company in his memory.

Pierre-Emmanuel’s father, Jean Taittinger, twinned Canterbury with Reims over 45 years ago when he was the Mayor of Reims (1959-1977).  His son is keen, once again,  to strengthen these links.