What is a typical day like for a cellarmaster when crafting the champagnes?

I taste Champagne – but not all day long! I prefer getting to work about 7.30am, that's when the phone calls haven’t started, and I can get my meetings done with early.

At 10.30am, we have our still wines tasting, to check on the quality during its aging. We look out for acidity and the complexity of the nose. By the time it gets to lunch, if I don’t have guests to entertain at the Maison Belle Epoque, I'll return home to have lunch with my wife. In the past, the cellarmasters were given an apartment on the site, but I have a home that is near Epernay.

After lunch, it’s meetings with maintenance, accounting and HR – well, the usual! Sometimes I’ll also have meetings with the petit cellarmaster to share notes. But at 4pm, we’ll have another tasting, a short one, to taste the disgorgement of the wines – it’s the last touch to eliminate what you do not like in the wine and to check the level of yeast (for fragrance) and sugar.

How often do you travel? Where are your favourite destinations and why?

I am traveling more since 2010 as we are celebrating the brand’s 200^th anniversary, and my responsibility is to meet sommeliers and customers, to share with them the wine’s unique make-up. In 2010 I spent 60 days on the road. Miami is my favourite for atmosphere, as people are more relaxed and friendly. Osaka in Japan is my favourite destination in Asia for its beauty and cherry sakura trees.

We understand you’ve created bespoke Champagnes for Gong Li and Sophie Marceau. How difficult is it to create bespoke Champagne on demand?

The process is mainly about sharing and describing their pleasures, usually over a cup of tea when I first meet them at the Maison. We try to pinpoint the best memories they have, through means such as showing pictures of various landscapes and colours, to sift out what they also don’t like. Then it’s time for lunch, where we will compare the old and new vintages, and see their preference. Following lunch, we’ll have a tour of the vineyards, so they can see for themselves the wines that produce Perrier-Jouët. It takes one day for this process, and in about six months, they will receive their case of 12 bottles with personalised labels.

Do you have a favourite quote about Champagne?

When I first joined Perrier-Jouët, the commercial director told me, “Belle Epoque Rose gives lightness to a woman’s eyes, but gives trouble to the Cellar Master”. It’s true as the light pink tint is hard to achieve, as too much red will make change the taste and create an artificial taste.

Why is it said that you shouldn’t mix Champagne and other alcoholic beverages, in order to avoid getting drunk faster. Is that true?

The basic rule is not to mix your Champagne with anything in the first place! I don't add milk to tea, water to wine, etc, so the same rule applies – don’t mix your Champagne with anything, so you can get the real aromas and flavours of the product. If you must have a Champagne cocktail, use sparkling wine – it’s less expensive.

As for getting drunk, it would be true if you are moving very quickly from hard liquor to wine to port in a single session, the different alcohol levels and method of delivery could hasten the alcohol intake. Carbon dioxide in Champagne – which gives the bubbles – is the secret, the bubbles help to ‘integrate’ the alcohol and make it easier to absorb the alcohol. Happiness is in the CO2.

(Read the Meet interview by Edwin Soon on page 115 of Appetite, August 2011)