Mercier

In 1871, Mercier decided to build an authentic underground town and, never a man to do anything by half, instructed his architect to count in kilometres, not metres.

Six years later, the champagne production facility boasted 47 tunnels, covering 18 kilometres, a direct rail connection to the Paris-Strasbourg rail network and later became a popular public attraction when Mercier began running guided tours for the public - something that continues to this day. In the spirit of Mercier, a ‘Champagne Rally’ was even held in the cellars in the 1950s to launch Renault's 4CV and not a single bottle was smashed.

From cellars to cinema, Mercier joined up with the Lumière brothers, the legendary filmmakers, to make the very first documentary charting the two-year champagne process - precisely 3,723,821 visitors queued to see the end result - but even that was eclipsed by the ‘Cathedral of Champagne’, arguably one of Mercier's greatest publicity stunts. It was the world’s biggest wine barrel, weighing in at 20-tonnes, and constructed over 15 years from 150 one-hundred year-old Hungarian oak trees, but Eugène Mercier didn't stop there.

The ‘Cathedral of Champagne’ was completed in time for the 1889 World Exhibition and this provided Mercier with the chance to attempt his most breathtaking piece of showmanship: transporting the cask almost 90-miles from Épernay to Paris. It took eight days and nights, 24 oxen and 18 horses to transport the 200,000 bottle capacity wine cask. Two bridges collapsed under its weight, several others required major repairs and five houses were bought and demolished, but the publicity was priceless, even though the cask was eventually overshadowed by the main attraction, the Eiffel Tower.

The World Exhibitions seemed to be Eugène Mercier's playground, so naturally he was back in the public eye at the 1900 exhibition with organised trips above Paris in a Mercier-branded hydrogen balloon - the first advertising medium of its kind. After the fair, a ceremonial flight from Paris to Épernay was organised, but, just as they were nearing home, the weather changed and an uncontrollable jounrey began. They finally landed in a small village close to the Belgian border and when the border police inspected the balloon and found six bottles of champagne the pilot was fined for illegally importing alcohol.

Following the event, Eugène Mercier cheerfully said, "This is the cheapest advertising I’ve ever done. The press reports on this adventure will end up costing me less than an eighth of a cent a line!" Mercier, who sadly died four years later, understood that marketing a product is at least as important as the quality of the product. Judging from many modern champagne houses’ conservative and over-confident approach to the market and its customers it seems that many could still learn from the man with a flair for extraordinary publicity stunts.

3 QUESTIONS TO CHRISTOPHE BONNEFOND, CHEF DE CAVE

Can you tell us a little about the immediate reactions of visitors when they first see the Mercier cellars?« Visitors are surprised by the grandeur and the unique decor of our cellars. They’re not expecting to discover such a magnificent heritage and they realize how important our brand has been throughout the years. At the same time, they appreciate the amazing contrast between our traditional heritage and the originality of touring the cellars in a little train. »

Can you describe the atmosphere of the cellars and tell us if it impacts your everyday work?« The atmosphere of the cellars is rich with our century-old history and they show a love of grandeur that was uniquely Eugène Mercier’s. When you are in the cellars you want to perpetuate the legend of Mercier Champagne and that’s what I focus on every day, continuing the “fresh, fruity, intense, spontaneous” Mercier style. »  

How are these cellars different from the cellars of France’s other major houses?« The Mercier cellars were the first to be constructed according to a rational plan based on an architectural drawing and designed to be open to the public. The high, arched ceilings, the sculpted decor and the theatricality create such atmosphere in these cellars that are, above all and to this day, the place where our wines mature, an organized, functional production space just as it was in the beginning for Eugène Mercier. »