Domaine Evremond Brand Overview
In 2015, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath envisioned a joint venture between Champagne Taittinger and Hatch Mansfield to create a premium English sparkling wine. The team established three strict site selection criteria; any suitable land needed to be on chalk, south or southwest facing, and below 100 meters in altitude with natural shelter. England remains a marginal climate for grape growing, making site selection critical. From the outset, the search focused on Kent - "The Garden of England" - where arguably the best fruit is grown as it benefits from more sunshine hours than any other county in England.
In 2015, the team identified the ideal location in a beautiful fruit farm in Chilham, west of Canterbury, that was owned by third-generation fruit farmer Mark Gaskain. The deal was done, and that Autumn the creation of Domaine Evremond was announced at a press conference in Canterbury Cathedral, marking the first investment in the UK by a Champagne house. The venture was named after a Charles de Saint-Évremond (1613–1703), the man who introduced the early wines of Champagne to the court of Charles II and remains the only Frenchman buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey – a fitting homage to the friendship between the UK and France and the foundation of the Domaine Evremond project.
Today, Domaine Evremond remains the only English Sparkling wine with a Champagne house involved from its inception and created from scratch (rather than simply purchasing an existing vineyard) – a significant investment focussed on absolute quality, friendship, and the pursuit of excellence.
By 2017, 21 hectares of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier vines had been planted. The vineyard’s day-to-day management is overseen by Mark Gaskain and his team, under the supervision of Christelle Rinville, Taittinger’s Director of Viticulture. The first small crop was harvested in 2018, and the first meaningful crop followed in 2019. They were processed in the Domaine Evremond temporary winery, led by Taittinger’s Director of Winemaking Alexandre Ponnavoy. Since 2019, Christelle, Alexandre, and a dedicated team from Taittinger have travelled to Kent each harvest, demonstrating their unwavering commitment.
Today, over 60 hectares of vines have been planted. In 2022, construction began on a new winery, completed in August 2024, and on September 26th HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh officially opened the facility, an event that attracted significant media attention.
