Today
Our 45 acres of vineyards are spread throughout the small towns of Charly-Sur-Marne, Saulchery, Bonneil and Azy-Sur-Marne to ensure the quality. The vineyards are cultivated by reasoned methods with great respect for the environment.
Building upon centuries of tradition, the family continues to focus on quality, authenticity, and value.
Our Champagne can be found across France in fine restaurants, wine shops, bateaux-mouches, and other outlets. We continue to be present in the small village markets and we distribute our champagne across France. We maintain longstanding relationships with most of our customers and they are very much aware of the family’s tradition of producing Champagne of the highest quality.
While far from the largest Houses, we are a family owned and operated grower producer focused on being the best. We are happy to offer you our Champagne as we expand our relationships abroad.
We take great pride in our heritage and the quality of our Champagne and hope you find that the name Gratiot remains as much a symbol of excellence today as it has for the past 4 centuries.
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The Next Generation
Olivier & Sébastien Gratiot, the sons of Jean-Claude and Françoise Gratiot, are the 11th generation of Gratiot vine growers to work the family’s vineyards.
This first year ,1991, was difficult. Spring frost has devastated a major part of the young shoots that had just come out of their buds. The consequences on the harvest were dramatic. The press didn't overheat that year! Since then, frosts have been rare in the Marne Vallée and the following 20 harvests have been good not only in quantity but in quality as well.
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The Origins of Our Brand: Champagne Gratiot-Pillière
Jean-Claude Gratiot, Daniel’s son, inherited his father’s desire to produce world class Champagne. In 1969, in the same spirit, together with his wife, Françoise Pillière, he launched the production of an exceptional quality champagne under the brand Champagne Gratiot-Pillière.
At that time Champagne was not as popular and recognized as it is today, so while the quality was excellent, the demand did not match up. Jean-Claude would load his truck with cases of champagne and travel to suburbs of Paris, setting up by the roadside and selling to small shops and wine markets from the back of the truck.
The recognition of the quality of Gratiot-Pillière spread quickly, and word of mouth did the rest! Encouraged by their success, Jean-Claude and Françoise acquired new land to plant to vineyards, all of which have been passed down to the next generation of the family.
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A First! From White Wine to Champagne
In 1963, Daniel Gratiot was the first in the family to produce Champagne.
At the time, with few other vine growers, they shared resources to produce champagne.
Daniel Gratiot was then recognized as a leader in further developing the cultivation of vines in the region and and the promotion of champagne.
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The Highs and Lows
In 1899 Marie-Désiré Gratiot was the first family member to receive an award from the Concours Général de Paris in recognition of his superior white wines.
This was a real honor and accomplishment for the Gratiot name in the early days when there were few awards that were just beginning to be recognized.
Bad times were to visit the same generation. A phylloxera plague nearly wiped out the entire region and was followed closely by the destruction of World War I. The Vallée de la Marne in particular was ravaged - indeed one of the largest American WW I memorials is located in Belleau just a few miles from our vineyards. While these events were devastating to the region and the country, they did not deter the Gratiot’s desire and commitment to create the finest wines. The rebuilding was difficult at best and interrupted by another World War. But the name, the vineyards and the quality survived.
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