The Shout Magazine (New Zealand)

Dom Pérignon announces new Head Winemaker

Dom Pérignon has announced that Vincent Chaperon will take over from long-standing chef de cave, Richard Geoffroy, at the end of the year.

Geoffroy has held the role at the Champagne house for 28 years but will pass the baton to his assistant winemaker from 1 January 2019.

Chaperon joined Dom Pérignon’s parent Champagne house, Moët & Chandon, in 1999 and became an assistant winemaker a year later. He has worked with Geoffroy for the past 13 harvests.

Geoffroy, a former doctor, started at Dom Pérignon in 1990 and declared 15 vintages between 1990 and 2009.

“Faithful to the vision of Dom Pérignon, [Geoffroy] has always opted to fully explore its potential by constantly seeking to push the fruit to its optimum maturity, allowing him to honour Dom Pérignon’s commitment to “always a vintage wine”,” said the Champagne house in a statement.

“Geoffroy has enriched, refined and shared the universe of Dom Pérignon experiences, working with culinary luminaries such as Ferran Adrià and Alain Ducasse, as well as artists renowned for their creativity including David Lynch, Jeff Koons and most recently Lenny Kravitz.”