Champagne DE SOUSA – Interview With Charlotte De Sousa

The love of Champagne is infinite, a language that everyone can understand, a sparkle that can shine in anyone’s glass, it can connect people, brings them together and places a smile on faces around the world.

In this exclusive feature on Glass of Bubbly, we speak with Charlotte De Sousa, one of the co-owners of Champagne DE SOUSA, let’s discover a little about her life, her journey into the industry and one of her Champagne memories.

It’s Great To Speak With You, Charlotte, Can You Tell Us A Little About Yourself & How Your Journey Into The Champagne Industry Began?

“I’m Charlotte DE SOUSA, the 3rd generation of DE SOUSA. I have been working with my sister and brother together on the domain since 2020. After we lost our father we took care of the domain to continue the story.

For a typical day in the domaine, after dropping my two kids off at school, I arrive at 8am at the domain for the morning briefing with the team. After I wait for my colleague Aude and we check the email together, we prepare the orders, and do some paperwork. From 10am the customers arrive for tastings and tours until 12pm. Then it is lunch break, during the afternoon we continue with orders, paperwork and tastings until 5pm. After that my second life of wife and mum can begin.

You can watch a movie about our history here: elementsofchampagne.com

Do You Remember Your First Experience With Champagne? When It Was And What Kind Of Label It Was?

“The tradition is to give Champagne to a newborn as (baptism), a drop on the lip of the baby. That was my first Champagne experience (lol), it was of course Champagne DE SOUSA, Grand Cru, Chardonnay.”

How Rewarding And Challenging Is Managing Your Own Champagne House?

“Today the challenge is to be 3 young siblings who manage a famous company. We want to do the work as my father did and try to do even better, maybe. We respect the style, the quality and continue the Biodynamic work with the global warming issue.”

When It Comes To Pairing Champagne With Food, Do You Have Any Favourite Combinations That You Would Personally Recommend?

“Oh yes, I’m in love with Japanese food, all kinds, they all pair very well with our Champagne. It contains a lot of Umami, you can have dashi, miso soup, fish, sushi, bonite (Katsuobushi)….”

What Future Plans Can Enthusiasts Of Champagne De Sousa Look Forward To In The Coming Years?

“We will try to have our own indigenous yeast to make the second fermentation. Actually we use indigenous yeast for the 1st fermentation, but for the second we use an Organic one and we would like to have and grow our own.”

Can You Share With Us One Of The Most Memorable Experiences You’ve Enjoyed With A Glass of Bubbly?

“We taste a lot of Champagne, we can exchange and taste many kinds here, with the other winemakers. But I was so impressed by the quality of one Cava family company. Every time I do a blind tasting for other people they always make the mistake because it is very well made and very good quality. They are our twin in Cava (family company, organic, traditional method). I always have a great pleasure to taste this Cava from Recaredo 

In Champagne, we are very proud of our region and work, but we don’t stay blind, we try other bubbles and other countries, and they also make good quality!”

Thank you Charlotte, for sharing your story and experiences with us and we at Glass of Bubbly wish you the very best for the future!

Images belong to Charlotte De Sousa. Glass of Bubbly was granted permission to use them.