A Rosé Blooms At Dom Pérignon

Vincent Chaperon on the versatility of this style of champagne.

- Jeff Jenssen and Mike DeSimone

VINCENT CHAPERON SPENT his childhood dreaming of the sea. The grandson of French marines on both sides of his family, he grew up near the ocean and loved sailing—which is perhaps why he figured his stint at Moët & Chandon, in landlocked Champagne, would be a short one when he started in 1999. Six years later he joined Dom Pérignon, and 25 years on he’s that label’s chef de cave, a role he assumed in 2019 after a 13-year apprenticeship under his predecessor, Richard Geoffroy. Despite the lack of open water, Chaperon has sunk his roots here—“progressively”, he notes, which is how, he says, “humans fall in love with someone or something”. For him, it goes without saying, “that’s wine”.