Guide VERON des Champagnes 2018 - English version

 Biography of Michel Véron

Winemaker

An oenologist by training, graduated from the University of Dijon, Burgundy in 1986, I worked for 4 years for a Burgundy trade (1987 to 1991). In this first job, as production manager, I vinified, bred and bottled wines from almost all regions of France, from Burgundy to Bordeaux, through the Loire Valley, Alsace And the Rhone Valley. This first experience was a revelation for me, especially at the tasting level that I practiced a lot, as purchasing manager.

For family reasons, I had to look for a post in the northern part of France. But very quickly, Champagne has established itself as an obvious, if only by the quality of the sparkling wines it offers, undisputed reference for any wine lover.

Professor of oenology in Champagne

I then passed the Oenology Professor Competition at the Ministry of Agriculture and joined the Champagne and the Avize Viti Campus in 1991. Again, this was a real discovery: Of a region, of a particular professional path, with its personalities, but especially its collective linked to its organization. I especially met a wine ... Inimitable and intoxicating. I was welcomed with kindness and accompanied in my discovery of the know-how of Champagne: direct pressing, fractionation of musts, foaming, aging on slats, disgorging on the fly ... I would like to thank all those who m ' Jean-Claude Paulauqui, then head of the champagne cellar Sanger (champagne of the cooperative of the former students of the lycée wine of Champagne).

This is where I understood that to transmit was for me primordial. Nothing is more beautiful than to participate in the birth of a passion, a vocation in a young person. And as part of my teachings, I have the opportunity to participate, with all humility, in the personal development, but especially professional future professionals of Champagne.

An original and ambitious Champagne Guide

The idea of ​​the VERON Guide of Champagne comes from the students of BTS Technico-Commercial in wine and spirits of the lycée viticole de la Champagne. These are the same students who decided to give my name. Of myself, I would never have considered such a project. I had, moreover, a very negative idea of ​​the blind tastings and the arbitrary judgments, unfortunately often erroneous, which emerge from them. At first, I agreed to accompany the students on this project in 2009, provided that the champagnes tasted are never noted or compared, and that avoids the pitfall of tasting blind . Then, I realized that this Guide to Champagnes was a formidable educational tool. It was an unexpected opening on the professional world, which allowed me to stay in touch with my former students and with the professionals of Champagne, and to offer students a real initiatory journey through Champagne, between unforgettable tastings and enriching encounters. I could also combine two passions: the tasting and the transmission of knowledge and values. I learned a lot from this project myself.

The first year, in 2009, the VERON Guide to Champagne was exclusively broadcast on the web. The first book was published in 2011, in black and white, with only 35 selected champagnes. It was only sold on the web, and printed to order.

Since then, the Guide has evolved considerably. It became professional and became luxurious, to better carry champagne and Champagne. I had to create a company, build a strong team, with a graphic designer, a translator, a webmaster and a communication manager, a person responsible for proofreading and the editorial line ... Practically, young people in the making, all passionate about champagne. Currently, there are 6 people involved in the project, not to mention the training students and colleagues who are also involved. The whole gives a nice dynamic. We have formed rich partnerships, with Arnaud Lallement (L'Assiette Champenoise) who is involved in the creation of food pairings, with Lehamnn Glass, Amorim, Pelliconi, CDER ...

On the other hand, an event takes place every year, as part of the VERON Guide of Champagnes: the tasting evening of the great Champagne cuvées. This high-level event is organized by an association of former students of BTS Technico-Commercial of the Lycée Viticole de la Champagne, in partnership with the Lycée Hotelier de Bazeilles (http://www.soiree-degustation-champagne.fr).

Finally, a lot of positive energy around these projects that bring together the actors of the Champagne chain with the will to defend champagne and champagnes.

Each year, tastings of the VERON Guide to Champagne begin with the school year (September 3rd or 4th week) with the students. This is the opportunity for them to write tasting comments, which I correct, to understand the techniques and know-how implemented by the processors (winegrowers, oenologists and cellar chefs) and to discover the diversity of champagnes .

A requirement and a rigor in the service of Champagne and champagnes

However, in order to guarantee the editorial line of the Guide and the editorial quality, I personally ensure the selection of champagnes and the writing of comments published on the books and on the website.

Since the 2016 edition of the VERON Champagne Guide, my team has been managing the entire communication and dissemination section of the VERON Champagne Guide. The guide is now published in French and English, to enable winegrowers, champagne houses and cooperative cellars to communicate with the export. The VERON Guide for Champagnes is intended for the greatest number of people. The general public can discover the richness of a region, a vineyard and a wine. The enthusiasts will take pleasure, I hope, to discover or rediscover the secrets of the development of more confidential cuvées. The fact that the comments go to the bottom of things, and really explain how the selected champagnes are elaborated, gives a real appeal to the Guide, regardless of the readers.

It is distributed locally, in tourist offices, FNAC and bookstores, but also more widely, nationally and internationally, via the professional databases of booksellers (Electre and Dilicom), and especially via Amazon. An online shop has also been created on the website of the VERON Guide of Champagnes (http://www.guide-veron-champagne.fr), and it is very successful. The two versions of the VERON Guide to Champagnes (French and English) are also available in digital versions on the Kindle (Amazon) and Kobo (FNAC) tablets.