The Henriot family, who immigrated from the Loire region, has been growing grapes in the Champagne region since 1640. The traditional champagne house based in Reims was founded in 1808 under the name "Veuve Henriot Ainé" by Appoline Henriot after the death of her husband, making it one of the oldest champagne producers. Two ladies from the house married into the family of the German-born champagne house Heidsieck. The grandson Ernest Henriot (1826-1890) founded the champagne house Charles Heidsieck together with his brother-in-law Charles Camille Heidsieck (1822-1893) in 1851, but returned to the family business in 1875.
In the 1970s, Joseph Henriot (1936-2015) took over the company. In 1976, Henriot was merged with Charles Heidsieck, with Joseph Henriot controlling both companies. Then in the year he sold his company to the champagne house Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin and received 11% of the shares. He initiated the sale of this company to Louis Vuitton, where he then acted as chairman of the board, arranging the merger with Moët Hennessy and creating the luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy). Finally, in 1994, he bought back Henriot (but without the vineyards). A year later, the négociant Bouchard Père et Fils in Burgundy was acquired. Already a few years before his father's death in 2015, son Thomas Henriot had meanwhile taken over the management of Champagne Henriot.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien