#29 EPC Champagne with Co-Founder, Jérôme Queige

There’s a quiet shift unfolding in Champagne - and it’s beingled by a new generation willing to question the very foundations of the category. EPC Champagne is a new voice in that movement. Founded in 2019, EPC is reimagining what non-vintage Champagne can be - placing transparency,traceability, and the people behind the wine at the centre of the conversation.Every bottle tells a story: where the fruit comes from, whofarmed it, how it was blended, and why it tastes the way it does. It’s a philosophy that challenges the long-held mystique of ‘house style’ and instead invites drinkers into a deeper, more informed relationship with champagne.But beyond the detail, there’s something more radical atplay - a desire to strip away the formality and return champagne to something instinctive and joyful.Today, we explore what happens when tradition meets a newkind of honesty with EPC’s co-founder, Jérôme Queige.

Today it’s my privilege to welcome Émilien Érard, Chef deCaves of Charles Heidsieck. Émilien was appointed to the role in 2025, marking a quiet but significant evolution for the House. He succeeds Élise Losfelt, who departed to return to her family estate, but he also worked under Élise’s predecessor, the legendary Cyril Brun. Since joining in 2018, Emilien has embedded himself deeplywithin the fabric of Charles Heidsieck. His work has not been defined by visibility, but by precision—overseeing the rhythms of the winery, building trusted relationshipswith growers, and contributing, year after year, to the tasting committee that shapes the House’s signature.Émilien understands not only the technical architecture ofthe wines, but the deeper identity of Charles Heidsieck—its language of texture, patience and quiet power. In this episode, we move beyond the surface, exploring thephilosophy behind Charles Heidsieck’s rosé winemaking, the quiet power of lees ageing and reserve wines, and the nuanced decisions that preserve identity across challenging vintages. We also take a look at the newly released Blancdes Millenaries from the less talked about 2017 vintage.

Today it’s my great pleasure to introduce a true pioneer inthe world of sparkling wine—Ed Carr, the Chief Winemaker behind the House of Arras, Tasmania’s most acclaimed traditional-method sparkling wine brand.Ed’s journey into winemaking was anything but conventional.With a background in food chemistry and microbiology, he launched his life into the world of wine after solving a fermentation issue in McLaren Vale. In 1995, while working with Hardy’s, Ed founded House ofArras with a bold vision: to prove that Tasmania could craft world class sparkling wines. His philosophy is rooted in patience, precision, and purity—championing long lees aging, meticulous blending by hand, and sourcing fruit from cool-climate vineyards across Tasmania’s diverse subregions.Ed Carr became the second winemaker outside of Champagne to be named Winemaker of the Year at the International Sparkling Wine Competition in 2024. Over three decades, his wines have collected more than 370 gold medals, alongside lifetime achievement honours. And under his guidance, Handpicked Wines acquired the label in 2023—ensuring Ed’s legacy continues to inspire and flourish.It's my pleasure to interview him on the occasion of Arras’ 30 year anniversary.

Domaine Vincey is one of Champagne’s most exciting andprogressive grower-producers, known for its bold vision, meticulous craftsmanship, and deep respect for terroir.In Champagne, where generational legacies are sometimescenturies old, setting down one’s own path can mean writing not only a chapter, but a whole new book. Today we’re going to learn more about the impressive husband and wife team doing exactly this in the grand cru village of Oger in Champagne’s Cote des BlancsQuentin Vincey and Marine Zabarino are the impressive, ifnot radical, growers making incredibly good champagnes, which get better with every release. They are fearless pioneers in a village where most of the producers are attached to just two local cooperatives. Quentin is the domaine’s eighth-generation winegrower. Inthe 12 years following wine school, he took the rein of the family’s vineyards, grew their holdings, commenced organic and biodynamic conversion and shifted the business model to make wines under their own label. Quentin and Marine released their first champagne from the2014 harvest - a 100 percent Oger blanc de blancs made from old vines dating back to 1954. Just 11 years later, they have become one of the most interesting and acclaimed winegrowers championing the uniqueness of Oger’s terroir within a delicious, generous and Burgundian style. Today I am going to talk to Marine Zabarino about theirDomaine and have my first taste of the new release Oger 2020.

I’ve long considered Pierre Gimonnet et Fils champagnes tothe be the reference point for high quality blanc de blancs in the Champagne region. Their racy, pure and mineral style reflects the highest levels of finesse and freshness that is emblematic of chardonnay grapes grown on thewhite chalky slopes of the Côte des Blancs. Didier Gimonnet and his brother Olivier, are at the helm ofthe family’s domaine. These days they are accompanied by the involvement of their respective children. Didier is one of Champagne’s great winegrowers and makerswho is also – and  uncommonly - a good communicator.I sat down with him recently to talk about his philosophy and passion for making some of the finest blanc de blancs in Champagne.

For champagne lovers, there are few Houses with the electriccharge and extraordinary finesse of Lanson, which performs best with age. Known for blocking malolactic fermentation and extended lees aging, Lanson creates wines of extreme longevity and possesses a huge cache of the region’s oldest champagnes.After a monumental program involving a quality check andstocktake of their museum wines, the Maison has launched a unique program called ‘Lanson Private Collection’ where investors will be allocated a private cellar with storage for up to 300 bottles and personally monitored by their chef de caves, Hervé Dantan. After experiencing the special launch dinner in Reims, whereI had the chance to taste some extraordinary champagnes going back to 1921, I sat down with Hervé Dantan for this interview.

The Pouillon family are privy to some fantastic terroir in Champagne’s Grande Vallée. Rich and textured, whilst paradoxically elegant and enthrallingly vibrant, R. Pouillon champagnes are stunning interpretations of terroir, especially through the eyes of pinot noir, and elaborated with a sensitive hand. Today we are going to meet the man behind their making.Fabrice Pouillon makes exceptional champagnes. He seemsto possess a superpower, managing to achieve a necessary balance between power and delicacy, which sometimes eludes others with a heavy hand, especially those who rely on barrels for vinification.It was my pleasure to interview Fabrice recently inChampagne.

The Geoffroy family name is historically connected to thevillage of Cumières, in the Vallée de la Marne, where the family has been winegrowing since the 17th century.Today, Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy represents the fifth generation, overseeing 14 hectares of vineyards. In the 1970s, Jean-Baptiste’s father, René, made the audacious decision to use most of their grapes for their own production, under the label Champagne René Geoffroy, instead of supplyingthe big Houses. They produce fruit-forward, flavoursome and intenselymineral champagnes that somehow produce the verve required for massive aging potential, instead of just immediate drinking appeal, which is often the casefor wines coming from Cumières.Today, Jean-Baptiste is joined by his daughter Sasha, who isworking hand-in-glove with her father to perpetuate the legacy of the family into the future.It was my privilege to interview both of them in Champagne,recently.

There are few people who have forged a unique life as aprominent voice for Champagne like my next guest, Tyson Stelzer.Tyson is a multi-award winning wine writer, television hostand producer, author of 18 wine books, an international keynote speaker and wine show chairman and judge. His accolades are too many to list, but despite being based in Australia, he has never allowed the tyranny of distance to hold him back from travelling to Champagne many times a year as well as orchestrating events and presentations across the world. Tyson started out as a science teacher, working as the headof science at an independent school on the Gold Coast in Queensland. So how did a teacher become one of the world’s top Champagne identities? In this episode, we go behind the scenes with Tyson and ask him questions never previously asked and learn how some key decisions, ambition, and a lot of hard work created a unique pathway into Champagne.

In this episode, we sit down with Krister Bengtsson, the founder of Star Wine List, to explore his journey as a media entrepreneur to a leading figure in the wine industry. Since launching in 2017, Star Wine List has grown to cover over 45 countries and 4,000 wine bars and restaurants, helping wine lovers to discover their next great experience. Join us as we discuss the evolution of wine lists, and the role that champagne is playing in their development.