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Champagne in Denmark with Anders Hochheim
Anders Hochheim
Sparkling Wednesday in Copenhagen
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The wine bars in Copenhagen are popping up like
chanterelles on a humid, warm September day. As
many Danes have a craving for jammy and alcohol
strong wines, most of them focus on overseas wines
from Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.
But not at Le Petit. In this wine bar, the main focus
lies on Italian wines from Piedmont and - of course -
Champagne.
Located in the foodies paradise of Torvehallerne, right smack in the
middle of Copenhagen, you find Le Petit. Ole Mejlby Jørgensen
and his French business partner Sylvain Codron, have positioned
their little wine bar in the very top when it comes to the noble art
of selling Champagne.
During most of the opening hours you will find either Ole or
Sylvain behind the counter - or with a bit of luck, both of thembusy
serving guests, making every effort of selling Champagne on
an ordinary weekday, or making the town’s best steak sandwiches.
- There’s always a good reason for enjoying a glass of Champagne,
Ole Mejlby Jørgensen says.
That may be the reason why the two wine ambassadors
have proclaimed an uneventful Wednesday “Sparkling
Wednesday”. On such Wednesdays, Le Petit
always tempts you with Champagne offers you
can’t refuse.
Normally, we find a couple of better
and more expensive labels in the
cellar and sell them by the glass -
or the whole bottle, if you can’t
resist. We like to give our guests
the opportunity of tasting
Champagne labels that are
usually too expensive for an
afternoon drink, Ole says.
In the summertime, Ole and
Sylvain promote their own
import - a Blanc de Blanc vintage
from Tange-Gerard together with
a tradition, Noir et Blanc, from the
same wine maker. This summer’s
offer gives you a glass of each at DKK
100 (13€).
Tempted? Why not join Le Petit on
Facebook: facebook.com/LePetitVinbar
Boosting Champagne sales in Denmark
No more than a decade ago, the Danes only drank
Champagne when celebrating the biggest moments in
life and to celebrate the New Year.
Today, the picture is somewhat more diversified.
Champagne sales are increasing rapidly due to a more
laid back attitude towards Champagne.
The number of wine bars with an impressive list of the French
bubbles, is growing constantly. So is the range of Champagne
brands by the Danish wine importers.
Presently, the Danish wine importer and wine distributor,
Løgismose, imports and distributes Phillipponnat, Locret-Lachaud,
Pierre Moncuit, Lasalle, Diebolt-Vallios, Serge Mathieu and
Larmandier-Bernier.
Last October we included Pierre Moncuit and Diebolt-Vallois to
our assortment. These two new brands made a significant impact
on our reputation among champagne aficionados, says Lars Møller
Jensen, wine merchant at Løgismose.
The wine importer distributes wine including Champagne to bars
and restaurants and retailers - but also directly to consumers in the
Løgismose-owned food mecca at the Copenhagen harbour front, as
well as the in-store shops in the department store, Magasin.
When taking on new brands, you risk cannibalizing your other
brands - specifically when experiencing a huge demand for the two
new labels. From October to Christmas we sold our anticipated
annual sales of Pierre Moncuit without compromising our other
brands, Lars Møller Jensen says.
He has noticed that the growing Danish Champagne segment
shows a special interest in blanc de blanc and wines from Mesnilsur-Oger.
Blanc de blanc and Mesnil-sur-Oger seem to be the buzz words
among the consumers. If we look at restaurants and wine bars, we
see that the non-dosage wines take an increasingly stronger position
in the market.
It’s hard to have a pessimistic view on the Champagne market
in Denmark. In almost every part of the business, numbers are
soaring. If Lars Møller Jensen could have a wish come true for the
years to come, he’d hope for a stronger hype around Philipponnat:
Only a few Danes have seen the true potential of Clos des Gossies,
and strangely as it may seem, the signature wine from Philipponnat
is to a large degree underestimated in Denmark, he states.
Løgsimose also sells Möet, Krug, Andre Roger, De Sousa, Ruinart,
Billecart-Salmon, Veuve Cliquot, Laurent Perrier and Selosse.
www.loegismose.dk
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