CHAMPAGNE GOES GREEN

LUDOVIC DU PLESSIS, president of House Telmont, sheds light on its remarkable innovations to minimise its carbon footprint, including the introduction of the world's lightest champagne bottle.

- NAFEESA SAINI

Four years ago, Ludovic Du Plessis found himself cycling between champagne houses in pursuit of one to acquire. While he had begun his career dealing in Cuban cigars, he developed a deep love for the bubbly after holding a cigar-and-champagne pairing for his top clients. This passion led him to spend a decade at Dom Pérignon before assuming the position of global executive director at Louis XIII within the Rémy Cointreau group.

Du Plessis now helms Telmont as president, ushering the house into a new era of sustainability with its In the Name of Mother Nature project. This programme outlines the house’s environmental commitment to crafting exceptional, sustainable champagnes without compromise.

In Singapore to showcase Telmont’s finest, Du Plessis tells us more about his vision for the maison’s future and its record-breaking environmental initiatives.

What led you to Telmont?

Four years ago, I wondered what I wanted to do with my life. I decided that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and buy a champagne house, so I cycled across the region to find a suitable one. It needed to tick these boxes: It must be at least a century old; family-run; the wine must be amazing; and it must have begun a conversion to organic agriculture processes.

I found Maison Telmont and tried to resign from the Rémy Cointreau group. But they proposed that I become an intrapreneur within the group instead. They acquired Telmont, and I’m now one of four main shareholders of the house, which include the group, Bertrand Lhôpital (Telmont’s fourth-generation family winemaker) and my old friend Leonardo DiCaprio.