A friend of mine once described Champagne as “terribly nineties”, as we decided what drinks we were going to use for an event. Whilst his opinion of this wonderful fizz may appear somewhat extreme, there’s no denying that in recent years glasses of bubbly have often been overlooked, as young event goers continue to reach for G&T’s and the ever-fashionable negroni for their bacchanalian fix. However in recent years it may appear that our waning opinion of Champagne has once again U-turned, seeing this sparkling beverage return at the helm of a new cohort of exciting winemakers.

Try out that hip wine bar down your road and ask for their latest Grower Champagne bottle, then sit back as you receive a well-earnt pat on the back from those on the other side of the bar. For you will have just opened up a passage to some of the best wines being produced today, and we can only guarantee that this small-house fizz urgently needs to be on your radar.

As current trends lean towards slow-and-low produced goods, its of no surprise that Grower Champagne’s popularity continues to increase. Offering an alternative to the big-guns of French sparkling wine, this artisanal champagne draws on familial and local history, and is crafted as a true expression of the landscape and communities from which it has been born.

So what is “Grower Champagne” exactly?

The creation of Grower Champagne is far more modest than what we would usually associate with Champagne harvesting. Cultivated and bottled by the same people who grow the grapes, this artisanal bubbly is a true expression of terroir, transferred tenderly with loving care from hand to mouth, and crafted by small estates that are often passed through families for generations.

This is an altogether different way of working from the bigger houses (such as Dom Pérignon or Moët & Chandon), who often purchase and then blend grapes from different vineyards, across different regions. With Champagne, this was often the order of things for centuries, with most growers who supplied these houses only ever blending and bottling for personal consumption.

But in the mid-nineties we saw a dramatic shift. When legendary French winemaker Anselme Selosse was declared one of the finest winemakers in the region in the 1994 Gault Millau guide, many third, fourth and fifth generation winemakers who had so often supplied the bigger houses with their fruit, began to market their fizz for themselves.

Much, much smaller in size, many of these grower estates come from single-vineyard plots. Their incredibly small production thus continues to add to their almost mythical allure. But with mysticism also comes the effort of discovering your newest tipple. Luckily we’ve curated a small selection of our current favourites for you to browse below.