Face to face

Panos Sarantopoulos

Took up the reins as managing director at Champagne Krug in 2006 and became chief executive in January this year
27 August, 2008
Page 12 
== Wh y should people choose Krug over other deluxe Champagnes? ==


Krug is a matter of a very personal, an individual choice. Krug is a taste that requires no subtitles.

== Are there any Champagne villages where you are unable to source grapes but would like to? ==

At Krug, sourcing grapes is not a matter of villages - it is a matter of a finer level of detail, of specific parcels. Our team will work with our partner growers to identify those finest parcels in the vineyard that can give birth to grapes destined for Krug. Then, in any given year, parcels will be confirmed in such a way that secures only the ultimate quality of grapes.

== What's your favourite time of year ? ==

I love the moment of the harvest, with my children running up and down the rows of vines. It is a moment when time collapses. I see them now, at their ages of seven and eight, then project into the future and see them again when the wine of this year is released as a Krug vintage (if it becomes one) 10 years later and, all of a sudden, they are in college. A humbling experience really, as the Krug calendar spans not only months, but years .

== Is deluxe Champagne value for money or just sheer decadence? ==

Earlier this year, Gary Boom, of the Vintage Wine Fund, said : "The price per bottle of a first growth Bordeaux hardly looks expensive when one looks at the money which is spent by the well-heeled every day on their other passions. It might be cars, clothing, travel, boxes at the opera . The cost of the Lafite, Krug or DRC is insignificant compared with what is being spent on the main entertainments."

== What is your favourite Krug/food combination? ==

A thin sliver of full, slightly nutty, northern Italian parmigiano and a glass of Krug Grande Cuvée .

== Can the Champagne market keep on growing? ==

The Champagne export market can continue to grow as Champagne becomes increasingly relevant in the lives of people around the world. I expect value to be an increasingly important component, over volume, in this growth.