Proust Q&A: Dominique Demarville

Dominique Demarville has been the cellar master of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin since 2009 and is the 10th since the Maison was founded 244 years ago. Demarville found his calling in 1985 when he worked a harvest in Champagne and then went on to study oenology and viticulture at the Lycée Viticole de la Champagne in Avize as well as the University of Burgundy in Dijon. His winemaking experience includes stints in Alsace, Vosne-Romanée, Margaux, Ay and Rilly-la-Montagne. During the launch of Veuve Clicquot’s 2008 vintage, he speaks to dbHK about his weakness for Burgundy and how he would like to be better at cooking.

Photo: Xavier Lavictoire, 2006 / Veuve Clicquot / De Visu– Reims

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I’m at my happiest when I am spending time with my family.

What is your greatest fear? 

Vertigo – it’s a good thing I work on the ground, I am terrified of heights.

Which living person do you most admire?

Bertrand Picard and André Borschberg who are the pilots from Solar Impulse, a solar-powered aircraft on a round-the-world adventure to promote the use of clean technology, supported by Moët Hennessy. It is an extraordinary and wonderfully crazy mission.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I collect wines of Burgundy, and they can certainly be an indulgence.

What is your current state of mind? 

Full of confidence in the future.

What is the quality you most like in a woman? 

Contrary to the world’s expectations of a Frenchman, I prize fidelity the most.

Who or what is the greatest love of your life?

My wife! She is an amazing woman to put up with me.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Cheers and Champagne.

When and where were you happiest?

On 4 June a few weeks ago when I was fishing on a lake and caught a big trout! The excitement and challenge of it was tremendous.

If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

Nothing! I’d like to think I am doing justice to what my parents gave me.

Which talent would you most like to have?

To be a clown to keep the children happy.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

To make the blend of our Yellow Label consistent year in and year out. It is the most challenging wine to blend, and I am extremely proud of it.

Where would you most like to live?

In Canada.

What is your most treasured possession?

My cellar.

What is your most marked characteristic?

I am incredibly stubborn, I know what I want and tend to go for it!

Who is your favourite writer?

Molières.

Who is your hero of fiction?

The teacher in Dead Poet’s Society.

What trait do you most dislike?

Unreliability.

What is your greatest regret? 

I wish I had spent the time to learn how to cook better – I might be chef de caves of Veuve Clicquot but I am certainly no chef in the kitchen.

What is your motto?

Only one quality, the finest. This was the motto of Madame Clicquot and it is passed on from chef de caves to chef de caves. I am stubbornly dedicated to perfection and refuse to accept any less than the best!

Who would be your ideal dinner party guests and what three wines would you serve?

My family and close friends. I would serve a magnum of Yellow Label, a red Burgundy (Vosnes-Romanée, for example) and a Château d’Yquem.