Champagne vines as you’ve never seen them before

By The editor , Published: 23 May 2018, 18:53

The Maison Louis Roederer has often made daring choices, the results of which have forged its unique character. For the past 241 years, it’s given a carte blanche to young photographers, invited to capture the influence of the estate and its wines, in collaboration with La Bourse du Talent. Inspired and poetic!

Lucie Jean has chosen to portray what we don’t see: “the mysterious link between the stars and the earth, this secret life that we don’t see, but which creates an effect on the vines at specific dates and times. “The ‘daytime roots’ inspired me”, says the photographer. She also captured the scene after dark, turning ‘daytime roots’ into ‘nighttime roots’.

Fairy bubbles

Given Louis Roederer’s carte blanche, Marie Benattar creates worlds that transcend reality. With her eyes on the vines, she transforms earth and objects to achieve this. “I spent whole nights in the vineyards producing these photographs that are like allegories of Cristal and Brut Premier”, she comments.

Ice beauty

Laurent Kronental chose to frame the winemaking equipment as individual entities and take us into the futuristic world of the Maison Louis Roederer, which has its roots so far back in time. The photographer, who has been exploring our relationship with time for a number of years, says: “How could I not have been seduced by the racking and draining rooms, in all their icy laboratory beauty?”

Celestial images

During his visit to the Louis Roederer cellars and vineyards, Grégoire Alexandre was intrigued and inspired by the place of biodynamics: “there’s a mystery that connects this culture on earth with the great hidden rhythm of nature, a rhythm that’s inscribed in the cosmos and in the stars. (...) I thus made, in offbeat fashion, a kind of scientific album of celestial images”.

Earth and toil

Sandra Reinflet is interested in the cellars and wine presses, and the men and women who work to produce the wine each year. She aims to “show what we don’t see when we drink it, the ‘behind-the-scenes’ “of this luxury product whose true luxury is to be produced as well, with as much care given to its production”.

Pure pastel

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes are harvested here, but Laura Bonnefous from Maison Roederer in Reims was seduced by the manor house with its contemporary interior decor. She used the pastel walls of the historic house as walls to create “something that lies between the museum and the portrait gallery”.

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By The editor

The editorial staff of France.fr follow the trends and news of destinations to bring you stories from France that reveal its innovations and traditions revisited and make you long to (re) discover its territories.

The Maison Louis Roederer in Reims

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