Whether you’re celebrating a wedding, a birthday or just the end of a long Thursday, nothing signals a special occasion like the popping of a champagne cork. Famously made in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France some 90 miles outside of Paris, legacy brands like Champagne Taittinger have been filling and aging bottles in their caves for centuries. While a champagne toast before a meal is a given, few people would ever consider pairing the bubbly drink with their meal. With the opening of their first-ever on-property restaurant, Polychrome, Taittinger hopes to change that perception. Located in the historic Saint-Nicaise headquarters in Reims, the restaurant is designed to be a champagne-forward experience with the express purpose of letting their vintages shine through food.
“I’m very excited.” Explains Vitalie Taittinger, president of Champagne Taittinger. “This has been some years of reflection and now I’m very happy to share it with the visitors and to see how they react to the concept. How much it can bring something to the idea that we can pair champagne with many different things.”
The name Polychrome refers to the color wheel as a reflection of all of nature’s vibrant hues and how they play with the plate and the palate. The opening of Polychrome is also the first time that all ten Taittinger champagnes will be available to taste in one location. With three- and four-course tasting menus and a special afternoon tea, rotating seasonal tastings as well as by-the-glass offerings there’s plenty to choose from. “I think the season reflects in the color palette.” Taittinger affirms. “It will be also a great angle for the chef to imagine the changing palette of color, having a new product and being able to work with the season. We see that it is approachable even when you are cooking at home.”
The opening chef is Michelin-starred Charles Coulombeau who is well known for combining bold flavors with global influences and was a winner of the Taittinger Signature Culinary Prize in 2020. He’s spent more than a year testing out recipes in between running his other dining concepts all over Paris. Following Coulombeau, the visiting chefs will rotate yearly but the concepts will stay the same with brightly colored accent sauces and condiments meant to challenge diners to investigate their own favorite flavor combinations.
“Contributing to the creation of Polychrome was a true creative challenge,” says Coulombeau. “It was a journey where ideas, flavors and influences converged to shape a collective expression. Central to this project was the delicate balance between honoring the identity of the House and infusing it with my own artistic sensibility, all while pushing into new and uncharted territory.”
While Vitalie only took over Taittinger from her father a few years ago she has embraced making improvements to the 712 acres of vineyards that included Grand Cru sites in both the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. Since the estate is also one of the largest in the Champagne district there is a lot of space to play. The expressive color palette is mirrored in the reimagined visitor center with updated tasting spaces and a spacious bar.
“I think [the colors] will be even more pushed here and it will be great also being a space of exploration.” Vitale Taittinger agrees. “How you can play with the wine and the food. This is an exploration and I love that. I love the freedom.”
Architect Giovanni Pace designed the restaurant housed inside an addition at Saint-Nicaise and preserved much of the original 1930s heritage. He specifically drew from materials and concepts of the former abbey that once stood on the property with accents of wood, stone and glass. These of course incorporate the caves which hold many of the cuvées aging below and all a quick 45 minute train ride from Paris.