Peter Liem, Daniel Johnnes & Laurent Champs: Inside La Fête du Champagne 2026 | Part 1
For years, Champagne's great houses and its small growers didn't share a room. Then La Fête du Champagne put Olivier Krug and Raphaël Bérêche side by side, and both of them were a little nervous.
Co-founders Peter Liem and Daniel Johnnes talk with Matt Weiss about how the festival began over dinner between two friends, the Burgundy tradition of La Paulée behind it, and how 35 producers are chosen each year from a much longer list. Then Laurent Champs of Vilmart & Cie tells the story of his father, a carpenter who bought an oak cask when everyone else wanted steel, explains how Vilmart blocks malolactic fermentation, and remembers the night two 1988 magnums reached him 12 seconds apart.
Peter Liem is the James Beard Award-winning author of Champagne and the writer behind ChampagneGuide.net. Daniel Johnnes founded La Paulée in the United States and is Wine Director for Daniel Boulud's Dinex Group. Vilmart & Cie was founded in 1890 in Rilly-la-Montagne on the Montagne de Reims. Laurent Champs is the fifth generation, and his son Thomas joined in 2020.
La Fête du Champagne returns to New York City October 14 to 17, 2026, with producer dinners, masterclasses, the Apéro au Champagne, and the Grand Tasting and Gala Dinner on Saturday, October 17. The Wine Centric Show is a proud media partner of La Fête du Champagne.
GET YOUR TICKETS
La Fête du Champagne returns to New York City, October 14 to 17. Meet the families and winemakers behind the world's great Champagnes, in person.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-fete-du-champagne-new-york-city-2026-tickets-1991728846596
LISTEN:
https://share.transistor.fm/s/8497f25b
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KEYWORDS:
La Fete du Champagne, La Fête du Champagne 2026, Peter Liem, Daniel Johnnes, Laurent Champs, Vilmart, Vilmart et Cie, Champagne, grower Champagne, Champagne houses, Krug, Olivier Krug, Bereche, Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill, La Paulee, Champagne festival NYC, NYC wine events, malolactic fermentation, Wine Centric Show, Matt Weiss, wine podcast, Champagne podcast, InVintory
