▻ Vitalie Taittinger

Let's Talk With

29 Oct

Written By Sarah Kemp

In conversation with Vitalie Taittinger

Episode Summary:-

Elin McCoy talks to Vitalie Taittinger, President of the Taittinger Champagne House, in our series “The Next Generation”. Vitalie took over from her father, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, in January 2020. In this interview Vitalie talks about how she never envisaged being part of the company, how she pursued a career in art, but was inspired to join the family company by her father buying back the company from Starwood Capital Group in 2006. “How he won made me follow him, his integrity, his authenticity, his courage; all these precious things made me want to follow him.”

Vitalie discusses her career in art and how she became involved in publishing a book about the artist Alfred Courmes, the surrealist painter. She explains, “Art is part of the DNA of the family, we love art.” Her first role at Taittinger was working in marketing and communications, where her background fitted perfectly with the Taittinger Collection, where the bottle became both the canvas and the inspiration for a creation by a distinguished artist. She explains that, to begin with, she worked for the full-time director (after consulting for the company for two years), who was very old-school and demanding but taught her a lot. Over time she developed a more precise vision of both the champagnes and the company. She explains that she and her father enjoy a shared vision.

Her earliest memories of growing up in Reims are of being out in the vineyards and woods, as her mother always took them for three- to four-hour walks, remembering “smelling Autumn, coldness and the fireplace afterwards.” She tells Elin that her parents welcomed people, how it was often open house, and how after the aperitif she would sip the leftover warm champagne. Her first champagne memories were of “the impression of lipstick and the combination of warm champagne and people who drink it before.”

She became President of the Taittinger Champagne House in January 2020, just before the pandemic struck. Elin asks if she had a vision for any new cuvées and asks how the pandemic affected her role. “It gave us two years to discuss a lot with my brother and the team, society is changing.” She reveals she does not envisage any more cuvées, but maybe repositioning and stopping some. What is important is being precise in what you give the customer, she says.

The Taittinger Champagne House has always been adventurous internationally, buying land for Domaine Carneros in California in the 1980s and purchasing land in the UK in 2015. Vitalie reveals that the first bottle of the English sparkling wine was produced in 2020 and will be released probably in 2024.

Elin asks what advice her father gave her, both professionally and personally, on taking the role of President. Vitalie tells her that when she walked into the office on her first day as President, she found two letters on the desk addressed to her. In the first he wrote that he had full confidence in her and that to remember that the staff are not just serving you, you are serving them. In the other letter. he wrote, “all the hard decisions have to be taken with your heart.”

Vitalie also tells Elin about La Transmission, an all-female initiative to bring together a group of female decision-makers from the Champagne region, founded by Anne Malassagne of AR Lenoble and Margareth Henriquez, President and CEO of Krug. She believes the best teams have both women and men and reflect society at large.

Elin asks what she believes are her two biggest challenges. She replies, the environment, and transmitting to the next generation the pleasure and passion of working in champagne, “the meaning of what we are doing delivering this wine, which is much more than a wine, it is a special symbol of happiness and reconciliation.”

““All the hard decisions have to be taken with your heart.” ”

— Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger

Running Order:-

0.00 – 14.02

“I never thought about working for the family group, I wanted to be an artist.”

– Taking on the role of President from her father Pierre-Emmanuel.
– Growing up in Reims and early memories of Champagne.
– Her relationship with her father.
14.03 – 21.32

“Art is part of the DNA of the family.”

– How Vitalie was inspired to become part of the business when her father bought back the family company.
– Vitalie’s first role in the company in marketing and communication and how she approached her new role.
21.33 – 29.26

– How the pandemic affected the company.
– Vitalie’s view on whether to launch new cuvées or reposition.
– Vitalie’s philosophy regarding the customer.
– Taittinger’s overseas projects, Domaine Carneros in California and Domaine Evremond in Kent, UK.
29.27 – 32.50

“I’m very confident in you.”

– The advice given to her by her father.
– The two letters from her father left on her desk on the first day in her role as President.
32.51 – 41.05

“It is more than a wine: a symbol of happiness and reconciliation.”

– Joining La Transmission, the women’s Champagne group.
– Vitalie reveals her two biggest challenges ahead.