Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/391696
{ SOMMjournal.com } 81 Things came to a head on both fronts on April 12, 1911, when about 6,000 vignerons rebelled, particularly in the riverside town of Aÿ, where they clashed with police and French soldiers, burned down cellars and broke up casks so that Champagne and blood were mixing in the streets. Miraculously, no one was killed. In time, a settlement was reached by which Champagne would be made only with Champagne grapes grown in the Marne regions, while the Aube would be admitted as a secondary area—"Champagne Deuxième Zone." However, when the new borders were drawn in 1927, the Aube, having proved its quality and economic worth, became a full member of the Champagne community. From the Streets to the Cellar On September 16, 1921, a decade after the uprising and at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, some of the growers who had been ringleaders in what are now called the "Champagne Revolution" or "Champagne Riots" joined forces to launch a business venture furthering what they had started in the streets. On that day, the group of growers officially founded Champagne's first growers' cooperative: the CO.GE.VI. or Coopérative Genérale des Vignerons de la Champagne—still the parent company of Champagne Collet. Within five years, it had 200 growers as members. The cooperative managed to stay afloat through the twin blows of a worldwide depres - sion and World War II, and, under the guidance of Raoul Collet, established Champagne Collet as its flagship brand. After the turn of the 21st century, CO.GE.VI. went through an expansion period, establishing new headquarters in Aÿ and constructing expansive new cellars in nearby Oger big enough at present to store 27 million bottles in addition to ten million in Aÿ. But in spite of its production growth and technical and quality advances, the governing board felt Champagne Collet needed to grow internationally as a brand. In 2011, it hired Olivier Charriaud to spearhead that effort. As an executive at Rémy Cointreau, Charriaud had headed the worldwide re-launch of the Cointreau brand in the late 1990s and thus understood global marketing strategy, branding and positioning. BORN OF REVOLUTION, CHAMPAGNE COLLET IS RE-BRANDING ITSELF WITH TALES AND GRAPHICS FROM THE ROARING TWENTIES The Maison Bissinger was set ablaze by a riotous group of grow- ers during the 1911 Champagne Revolution. It was purchased in 1921 by the CO.GE.VI.—the oldest cooperative in Champagne. Here visitors pass through a century of history and see the fundamental changes that have been wit- nessed here from the First World War to the age of globalization. Today this building houses a boutique and tasting room. Olivier Charriaud, Director General for Champagne Collet. "Our vision in the U.S. is to find the right partners who can be as passionate about Collet as we are."