Canard-Duchêne champagne was born from a love story between Victor Canard and Léonie Duchêne.
What better ingredient then to create champagne?
Focus on this romance, mixing family tradition and Champagne identity, which was born almost two centuries ago. A sparkling encounter The tradition of the House takes root in the heart of the Champagne vineyard, on the hillsides of Ludes, in the Montagne de Reims Natural Park. Canard-Duchêne is the love story between Victor Canard and Léonie Duchêne.
The year 1859 marks their meeting. Léonie comes from a family of winegrowers and Victor is a cooper. They are both children of the Champagne region and passionate about shaping the products that nature offers them. They discover each other during a walk, when the vines are in bloom, in the pretty village of Ludes.
They exchange a few words. The spark is there and the affinities are strong! They realize their common passion: that of their terroir. A beginning of a Champagne romance Over the months, they meet sometimes in the middle of the grape varieties, sometimes in the extraordinary forests for bucolic walks as desired. Through vineyards, green plains and discreet heights of the Montagne de Reims, their personalities are revealed and their feelings strengthen over the seasons.
At the time, "the 100-day rule" was in force: it was the time between full flowering and the harvest. This was exactly the time it took Victor to declare his love to Léonie... They talked at length about their dreams. They both realized that they had to value the love they had for their native land, in addition to the love they had for each other. Two avant-garde souls The only child in a family of winegrowers, Léonie had already been working the vines since she was a child. It was therefore quite natural for her to decide to make winemaking her life's work.
Supported and accompanied by Victor, they demonstrated together the excellence of their know-how. The first vintages were launched and the results were not long in coming: local success was there! Victor then gave up working with wood to devote himself entirely to their vines. They then worked together, hand in hand, among the grapes. Victor finally made up his mind… And asked Léonie's hand in marriage in the very place where they had met a few years before.
It's a big yes! Here's a new reason to organize festivities and take the opportunity to respect tradition by sabering a few bottles, this time, in their honor. Already linked by Champagne, they made their love official by getting married. Moreover, waiting a few years to commit was a very innovative act for the time. The legacy of a love Victor and Léonie joined their names to found the Maison Canard-Duchêne in Ludes in 1868. They decided to devote themselves to the project of a lifetime: to reveal the wonderful potential offered to them by this hillside located in the heart of the Montagne de Reims natural park.
This union marks the essence of Canard-Duchêne: returning to the essentials and the richness of the Champagne terroir in Ludes, a Premier Cru village, land of Pinot Noir... This couple has always advocated the secret ingredient of a relationship that works both at work and in the personal sphere: patience... Moreover, it is not without recalling the care to be given to the vineyard! In the 19th century, marriage was the foundation of any family and a key element in the transmission of heritage, land, education and values in general.
Thus, love, convictions, history and avant-gardism have allowed Maison Canard-Duchêne to forge its identity. Free spirits like Léonie and Victor since 1868, we have tried to honor this heritage in each of our bottles, and this, for more than 150 years! The beginning of a family story From their love were born 4 children: Alfred (1863), Armand (1870), Paul (1874) and Maria (1877).
The latter, inspired by their parents, also worked to promote champagne and continued to pass on this passion from generation to generation. But that is a completely different story…
* Imaginary story, inspired by the love story of Victor Canard and Léonie Duchêne. To taste the wine foundation of their romance, we invite you to visit our cellars and taste the Léonie and V comme Victor Canard vintages! Contact the House.
