🍾 Krug

Krug is a Champagne house in Reims, in the Marne department. According to the house, Joseph Krug founded it in 1843 with the aim of making the best champagne possible every year, whatever the weather of the harvest. His approach has guided six generations of the family; Olivier Krug, of the sixth generation, is the director of the house.

The main wine is Krug Grande Cuvée, a blend renewed every year: according to the house, each Édition is numbered, and since 2016 the number appears on the front label. The range also includes Krug Rosé, Krug Vintage and two single-vineyard wines: Clos du Mesnil, from a walled plot in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger acquired by Rémi and Henri Krug in the early 1970s (first harvest 1979), and Clos d’Ambonnay. According to Wikidata, the house belongs to LVMH.

Champagne is a wine with a protected designation of origin (PDO). The bubbles come only from a second fermentation in the bottle, the wine is aged for at least 15 months before sale (36 for vintage), and all production takes place only within the delimited area. Krug is a brand; Champagne is the name of a place.

Why it matters to you. The Édition number on a bottle of Grande Cuvée tells you which blend is inside; the word millésime (vintage), by contrast, is a term set by the rules. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.