Berkmann expands premium portfolio with EPC Champagne

By James Bayley

Published: 13 March, 2024

Berkmann Wine Cellars has reached an agreement with EPC Champagne to distribute the brand in the UK market.

Joining the Berkmann portfolio alongside Champagne Drappier and Champagne Jacquesson, EPC Champagne is a young Champagne brand offering a point of difference in Berkmann's Champagne category.

Established in 2019 by Jérôme Queige, Camille Gilardi and Édouard Roy, EPC Champagne works with select grower partners, each EPC cuvée represents a specific terroir with an emphasis on minimal intervention.

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Emma Dawson MW, head of buying for Berkmann Wine Cellars, said: “The Champagne category has seen little change in recent decades with the traditional houses still dominating the UK market. EPC is an exciting opportunity for Berkmann to bring an entirely new style of Champagne brand to this scene, and one that aims to disrupt the traditional model that has been split between the Grand Marques and smaller grower-producers.

Jerome Queige, EPC founder & CEO added: “In our opinion, Berkmann Wine Cellars is one of the most prestigious, rigorous and respected wine distributors in Europe. As a young Champagne brand, we are proud to have had the confidence of such a player for national representation in a market as mature as the UK. We have complete confidence in EPC's future success in the UK market, thanks to the support of their expert teams. The signing of this partnership is a major turning point for EPC Champagne."

EPC Champagne’s cellar master collaborates closely with grower partners, utilising a partnership model that allows growers to vinify their grapes and be compensated for the entire production process. Traditionally Grand Marques source grapes from a variety of sub-regions and blend them to create one house style. However, EPC has a series of cuveés each taken from a different terroir of Champagne developed with a number of grower partners.

EPC's commitment to minimal intervention is evident in each cuvée, with low sugar content and minimal sulphites. A notable feature is the heat-sensitive marker on each back label, indicating the wine's optimum serving temperature.

Emma Dawson MW added: “This is an opportunity to really shake up the Champagne market in the UK and give our customers the opportunity to move away from traditional brands and work with a new concept that is modern, sustainably-minded and backed up with serious quality credentials.

“We are targeting the premium on-trade as a starting point to focus on establishing the credentials of this exciting new brand, this will offer consumers a journey of taste through the terroir of Champagne, something that no other brand is doing right now.”

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