Winegrower Champagne
For Sophie Signolle, owner of Champagne Michel Gonet, the Champagne trade should be based on the values of luxury and pleasure. And excellence comes at a price. 
“I am an entrepreneur. I love discovering new countries, new culinary cultures. It’s essential when promoting a luxury wine such as champagne, to be in tune with one’s customers. Seeing the consumer’s pleasure in discovering it is the best reward. A champagne often reflects the personality of its creator and the consumer can appreciate this personality through the champagne’s taste and conception. A bottle of champagne is the culmination of all the work that goes on from the land to the glass,” says Sophie Signolle, owner-producer of Champagnes Michel Gonet. In between bottling the 2009 wines, an Agricultural Social Mutual Fund meeting and an appointment with the wine producer’s union, she affirms her commitment to wine growing despite her political responsibilities. “I am a woman with convictions and I like to understand the how and why of things. What’s more, I am determined and fearless in defending my beliefs,” she adds. What character! Just like her champagnes! She concludes, “Each champagne is different according to its typicity. There is a champagne for all circumstances, depending on your inclination, the season and the occasion.
The art of communication and selling is to convey this message, to find out what the customer wants and to suggest a champagne that will give him pleasure.” This enthusiasm has led to Michel Gonet champagnes doing particularly well in export (80%). The blancs de blancs champagnes are nearly always vintage. The non-vintage champagnes spend 3 to 4 years in the cellar before going on sale. “Our vintage champagnes evoke emotions, sensations, vibrations. Their personality calls out to us.”
The latest 2009 cuvées are monocru, single varietal using Pinot Noir de Fravaux and Chardonnay de Montgueux and de Vindey. They complete the range of pure Côte des Blancs Chardonnays. The vineyard is spread over 40 hectares. With wines that “speak for themselves” the brand has a very bright future!
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