Champagne Secrets with Olivier Krug

Nearly two centuries ago, Joseph Krug founded what would become one of the world’s leading Champagne houses. And over the past 30 years, Olivier Krug, a sixth generation Krug descendant, has helped the House of Krug simultaneously evolve and maintain its creme-de-la-cremant status. As a tribute to Olivier’s great-great-great-great grandfather, Joseph Krug, and his philosophy that each individual plot of wines is a single ingredient in Krug Champagnes, the House chooses one humble single ingredient to celebrate each year, inviting Krug Ambassade chefs to creatively interpret the ingredient gastronomically through Krug pairings.

This fall, Indagare is partnering with Krug on three extraordinary small-group trips—Indagare Journeys: Discovering the Krug Single Ingredient. Each trip allows you to be part of one-of-a-kind culinary experiences and rare cuvée tastings with top chefs Matt Kammerer, Cassidee Dabney and Nathan Rich at three of Indagare’s favorite boutique hotels. These star chefs will create unforgettable meals that highlight the essence of this year's single ingredient—the flower in gastronomy—and feature Krug Grande Cuvée and Krug Rosé Édition at Harbor House Inn in Mendocino, Twin Farms, in Barnard, Vermont and Blackberry Farm, in Walland, Tennessee. Here, Indagare’s Melissa Biggs Bradley’s talks with Olivier about the journeys and all things Champagne—from how to pick the right vintage to fast facts you won’t want to miss. Listen to the full conversation on the Passport to Everywhere podcast, here.

Indagare Insider Journeys: Discover the Krug Single Ingredient will immerse you in the world of Krug and exquisite locally sourced farm-to-table cuisine (and terroir in its truest sense). These are extraordinary culinary journeys you won’t find anywhere else.

To learn more and book these trips, visit indagare.com/krug

What was Joseph Krug's initial vision or dream for Krug Champagne and what has been key to the success of the house and its longevity? “Joseph Krug was not French—he was not from a wine family. So he was completely pure…. And after a few years in Champagne working for a major Champagne house, he had the belief that he could create something that did not exist—a Champagne that would not rely on a good year to offer the very best, which in theory is not possible…. The vision was… to offer the most extraordinary experience of Champagne through the most generous, aromatic expression in the glass every year.”

You mentioned that you had a taste of Krug Champagne on your lips from the moment you were born (or just about). How have you seen the brand evolve and adapt to modern trends and changing audiences? “When I joined more than 30 years ago... the market was very different. It was mostly Europe and America. People were learning through wine education. They were learning in the restaurants. Today, the world is everywhere. Asia has become the first region for Krug. Japan is by far the number one market for Krug. And it's a big pride for me, because I started my career 30 years ago in Japan…. And it's extremely important to talk to new generations. There is no hierarchy of age or whatever. The audience of Krug is super diverse. If you are not adapting, you become a dusty memory in the museum, very high on the shelf at a level that no one can get…. But you don't do it to have a legacy. You do it because this is the way you are. This is part of your DNA.”

What are some of the innovations in the way you approach Champagne? “One of them, of course, was to leave our pedestal 10 years ago when we decided to have a Krug ID, a little number on each bottle, allowing people to scan the number with a Krug API and find the full story of the bottle. Before that, it was a secret.… People won't trust you if you don't tell them what's inside the bottle. So we created some programs to make the Krug experience more accessible. What we are doing with chefs, it's not only about pairing champagne and food, it is about creating. This year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Krug single ingredient program with Krug and Flower and the addition of these **Indagare Journeys: Discovering the Krug Single Ingredient trips ** that enable you to experience both at once.… We decided to use the flower, not only for the eye or for the aromatic, but to go further to top chefs worldwide. And if you ask the chef at first, he will tell you how… sometimes you pick the flower because of its bitterness, sometimes it's crispy, but after two or three weeks, this flower is gone. And you cannot replace it. So you have to counterbalance. And this is exactly like creating a Champagne, because you don't have the same elements every year. And you still want to offer the same experience.”

Champagne has always been known for its quality and its expression of nature. What goes into the creative process behind new editions of Krug Grand Cuvée? How do you maintain the consistency and the excellence? “A lot of mistakes. We know exactly where we want to go and we know there is no recipe…. Beside that… we rely on extracts of the previous 12, 15 harvests. So when an element or sound is missing—sometimes I use a music analogy—we go back to the past and in our library we are almost sure that we will find what is missing…. For example, the 172nd edition is created around more than 140 different elements…. And we cannot talk about the consistency and the excellence without talking about Julie Cavil…. She's been with us for 18 years already. And she's still working with people like Cellar Master Eric Lebel and myself who've been at Krug for more than 30 years.

In Krug Champagne, we use mainly three grapes—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. It all goes back to the dream of Joseph and what he wrote in his diary and said—‘One cannot make a good wine without using good elements from good origin.... So it's about the plots, because in Champagne there are 280,000 different plots, and we are most probably the house that, since the very beginning… has paid attention to what each of the single plots could bring to the final composition…. Every year I have the broadest possible spectrum of ingredients. And so I will not have one Chardonnay, I will have 100 different Chardonnays…. And Julie will make sure that she tests all 300 wines, because we have Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. All 300 wines are tested individually, blind, random, twice by a team of seven. So what makes the Krug process very, very special is the fact that every year Julie could claim that she has 4,000 testing notes to understand the small volume she has in front of her.”

You said that your motto is the best is yet to come, but what is your hope for the future? “In the short term (and short term for me would be like 10 years), is to continue to build this very, very special connection that we built with Krug Lovers this previous year. And it will be to see a new generation taking over all these roles that we have behind the scenes. If you look, for example, the winemaking team, Julie has a team of six people and they range from 50 to 28. And for me, my hope is to see these people taking over…. I would love to see Julie in five, 10 years saying, ‘Okay, I think you are ready. Why don't you fly on your own?’ I would love to see that.”

3 Fast Facts: Champagne

Best way to enjoy champagne? “A real champagne lover always has champagne in the cooler, in the fridge or in the wine cellar. And you open champagne with people you love. Not because it's a celebration, a birthday or whatever. Of course you need a proper glass…. You cannot pour Krug in a flute, because nothing will be revealed. We have designed our own glass called Joseph Glass. But if you don't have it, you have some very, very good Chardonnay glasses on the market from the good producers that can make it. But for sure, never ever drink champagne from the flute or from a coupe.”

Best temperature? “For me, it's around 11 or 12 Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit).”

Favorite food to eat with Krug? “I have a little guilty pleasure, some parmesan, which I bought near Padova. A champagne like Krug, by definition, is super versatile. It offers a very, very broad spectrum of pairings and creativity, of course. That's another reason why you have to have a bottle of Krug in your refrigerator always.”

Indagare Journeys are small-group trips built around personal passions, with carefully planned itineraries led by specialist hosts who are experts in their fields. Highly curated itineraries include the highest levels of quality and service, and blend exceptional destination highlights with special behind-the-scenes access and one-of-a-kind experiences you couldn’t plan on your own. They open doors to the tastemakers who are defining, shaping and protecting the places we visit.

About the House of Krug The House was established in Reims in 1843, by Joseph Krug, a visionary non-conformist with an uncompromising philosophy. Having understood that the true essence of champagne is pleasure itself, his dream was to craft the very best champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual climate variations. Paying close attention to the vineyard’s character, respecting the individuality of each plot and its wine, as well as building an extensive library of reserve wines from many different years, allowed Joseph Krug to fulfill his dream. Six generations of the Krug family have perpetuated this dream, enriching the founder’s vision and savoir faire.

For more information, visit Krug.com/krug-stories/krug-x-flower-usa.

This article was produced in collaboration with Krug Champagne.