Champagnes Feuillatte and Castelnau join together as ’Terroirs & Vignerons de Champagne’

ith “the aim of becoming one of the three major players in the industry”, the Centre Vinicole - Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte (CV-CNF, Champagne’s leading group with 82 co-operative wineries) is absorbing the regional Champagne wine co-operative, CRVC, which has 23 co-operative members. The two co-operative groups approved the merger on 15 December after two extraordinary general meetings. Joined under the new banner of ‘Terroirs & Vignerons de Champagne’ from 31 December 2021, the two co-operative groups boast 6,000 members and 3,000 hectares under vine, equating to 9% of the Champagne wine region.

Announcing potential production of 245 million bottles (and €416 million worth of inventory), the new group intends to grow to 5% of the market share of AOC Champagne with its brands Nicolas Feuillatte and Castelnau. The ambition of ‘Terroirs & Vignerons de Champagne’ is also to reach 300 million euros in consolidated revenue from a current level of 287 million euros. The new group is managed by Christophe Juarez, who has been at the helm of CV-CNF since 2017.

“There has not been a merger on this scale for 25 years”, and it provides “an alternative to trading companies by building a long-term relationship with members”, said a statement. “The new group mirrors concentration among Champagne players and supports restructuring of the co-operative model”, said Véronique Blin, president of CV-CNF who is taking over leadership of the new group. Blin commented that the merger “is a response to the downward spiral in supply-side sales witnessed since the last crisis in the Champagne industry in 2008 with the loss of 40 million bottles in the French market”.