The unjustly almost unknown monk Jean Oudart (1654-1742) was the cellar master of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre aux Monts de Châlons in the département of Marne, the heartland of Champagne. This was not far from the neighbouring abbey of Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers, where the much more famous Dom Pierre Pérignon (1639-1715) was also cellar master and is considered the inventor of Champagne. The two Benedictine monks Oudart and Pierre Pérignon worked together with the aim of perfecting the champagne production process.

In fact, they should both deserve the credit for their success, although only the latter has gone down in history. In principle, Oudart, who was 16 years younger, had the same function in connection with winemaking. He lived 27 years longer than Dom Pérignon. It was during this time that the great success of sparkling wine, champagne, began to emerge. The ungrateful Jean Oudart made an important contribution to this development.
![]()
Using the encyclopaedia is not only time-saving, but also extremely convenient. What's more, the information is always up to date.
Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“