Chef de cave

French · cellar master

The chef de cave (cellar master) is the person who tastes the base wines and decides the blend to match the house style.1

The core of the job is assemblage: choosing among vins clairs from different crus, varieties and years.2 Reserve wines help keep the house style consistent.3

The word cave means cellar. Champagne trading houses are called maisons.4 Reserve wines are excluded from vintage Champagne, so a vintage blend draws on a single year.5,6 In Champagne the principal varieties must make up at least 90% of any blend.5 See assemblage and Champagne houses.

See also

AssemblageGlossaryVin de réserveGlossarymaisonGlossaryWhen the Champagne houses were foundedHistory

Sources

  1. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). Blending a Grande Marque cuvée
  2. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche Élaboration du Champagne (FR) (2024-05)
  3. Comité Champagne / champagne.education. L'élaboration du Champagne (fiche) (2024)
  4. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). Labeling
  5. Cahier des charges de l'AOP « Champagne » - modifications approved by the INAO national committee on 11 September 2024 (national opposition procedure text) (2024-09-11)
  6. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Blending

Facts checked on 2026-10-19