It wasn't until 1947 that my grandfather, Jean Fannière, decided to produce his own Champagne.
Success came quickly, thanks to the high quality Chardonnay grapes of the Avize Grand Cru. From a few hundred bottles of Champagne in the early years, Jean Fannière was selling around 10,000 bottles of champagne a year by 1959, when his daughter Josette (my mother) and his son-in-law Guy Varnier (my father) took over the management of the vineyard.
My father extended our domain to include the Grand Crus terroirs of Cramant and Oger, two villages close to Avize.
With a degree in winemaking under my belt, I took over the management of the family vineyard in 1989 with one single obsession: to respect the teachings and traditional methods instilled in me by my father and my grandfather.
My goal was to make our family brand famous throughout the world.
I am now extremely proud to say that my Champagnes are drunk all over the world, from New York to Tokyo.
The 44 villages classified between 90 and 99 % are known as "Premier Cru". Villages classified as 100 % are known as "Grand Cru" - there are only 17 of them - and they produce the finest grapes in the Champagne region.