Looking to hear the cork pop and the stream of fizzy bubbles ooze from a bottle of Krug’s Grande Cuvée? Dubbed as the King of Champagne, Krug’s champagne is still in a league of its own in comparison to other bubbly we see in the market. Olivier Krug is a sixth generation Krug and the Director of the House of Krug in Reims, France. He is a passionate father of four, and has tastes for the finer things in life from an early age.

His love for the motherland and its produce resulted in a life-long passion for the art of harvesting some of the finest champagnes in the world. His parents bore 5 children, and today, he remains the only child directly involved with this family business. He recalled his early childhood surrounded by grapes, the people and the aromas of the vineyard: “When I was a little boy, no more than 7 or 8 years old, I would ask my dad to take me around. I loved sitting in a corner, listening to him while he was talking to the growers and tasting grapes.”

Although Olivier’s father has taught his son everything that he would need to know about champagne-making, the young boy, however, did not immediately grasp the monumental reasons in indulging in the process. In fact, this bubbly wine, which we call champagne, can only be made in one place in the world – France.

Olivier grew to be an indispensable part of the Krug business and later, found the reason why the Krug brand is a worldwide commodity and phenomenon. “We create the Krug every year because we want to offer Krug to Champagne lovers, a champagne with quality that is unquestionable.” With unquestionable quality, comes unquestionable dedication. “You have to care for details, look at everything, forget nothing, care about the people. A good business is the consequence of good work. Therefore, the reason should not be the objective, because it’s all about how you make it.”

To enjoy a glass of champagne, Oliver suggests abandoning the champagne flutes for a Joseph glass, which will allow the bubbles to reach their optimal expression. He compared the experience of tasting champagne using a champagne flute to “going to the opera with earplugs”. Apart from using the right utensil, Oliver also suggests chilling the bottle at an optimal temperature to release the maximum wine aroma. To top that, what could be better than pairing champagne with good food and music? So choose wisely, because all champagne is not created equal.

Olivier travels around 100 days in a year to bring the Krug brand abroad and introduce the taste of the finest champagne to the world.

听着软木塞“噗”的一声和从 Krug’s Grande Cuvée 香槟瓶内渗出的华丽金黄气泡，这款酒香扑鼻的香槟被誉为香槟之王，因此与市场上其他香槟相比，Krug 香槟拥有着独一无二致命吸引力。Olivier Krug 是第六代法国兰斯 Krug 家族的传人。他是一名充满激情的4名孩子父亲，自小就热爱生活中的一切美好事物。

他对祖国及祖传产业的热衷投入使他一生都忙于酿造全世界最上等的香槟。他父母的5名子女中，直至今日，只有他是唯一直接参与家族事业的孩子。他回忆起自己的童年，周围仅环绕着葡萄与人们，还有葡萄园的浓郁香气。“当我还是7、8岁的孩童时期，我会让爸爸带我四处转悠。我喜欢坐在角落里，聆听着他和种植者们的对话，还有品味着葡萄。”

尽管父亲教会了他一切关于香槟制造的常识和秘诀，但小男孩并没有马上领会与沉迷于香槟制造。事实上，这种我们称为香槟的气泡葡萄酒，只能在全球一个地方酿制，那就是法国。

Olivier Krug 逐渐成为 Krug 商业品牌中最核心的一环，再后来，他发现了 Krug 成为全球知名香槟品牌的原因。“我们每年都要生产香槟，因为想为香槟爱好者献上最好的 Krug 香槟，确保毫无疑问的品质。而毫无疑问的品质也与毫无疑问的奉献相关。你必须注意细节，观察每一件事，关心着人们的感受。最好的经营是优良工作付出的体现。因此，理由不应该是客观的，因为一切都取决于你如何去做。”

为了享受一杯香槟，Olivier 建议放弃笛形杯而用 Joseph 杯，让气泡达到最佳的展现方式。他把用笛形杯品尝香槟的体验比作“戴着耳塞去看歌剧”。除了使用正确的餐具，他还提议在最佳温度下将瓶子冷却，最大化的释放葡萄酒香气。此外，还有什么比香槟配上美食和音乐更好的呢？所以更要明智地选择，因为并非所有香槟都是生来平等的。

Olivier 每年的旅行期约 100天，将 Krug 品牌散播至各国，并向全世界推荐最动人和富含层次感的香槟风味。

Text by Monica Tong