HATT et SÖNER is proud to be one of the youngest and smallest houses in Champagne. In just a short amount of time, we have come to be respected in the region for both our quality and our innovative style. That’s no easy feat for a small producer to achieve in less than 10 years.

HATT et SÖNER is located in the village of Bergères-lès-Vertus and we are proud to focus our energies on a limited production of blanc de blancs coming from a selection of chardonnay grapes farmed exclusively in only two Grand Cru villages, Oger and Mesnil-sur-Oger, and two Premier Cru villages, Vertus and Bergères-lès-Vertus, all of them located on the southern slopes of Champagne’s fabled Côte des Blancs.

HATT et SÖNER’s history is as colourful as Kristofer Ruscon - the Scandinavian who now owns the winery. Founded in 1954 by a niche winemaker called François Vallois, one of the vineyard’s biggest clients was Joseph Ruscon, a former beermaker who, while hiding in a wine cellar in the French town of Annecy during the Nazi occupation of France, made the vow that if he was to survive, he would drink a bottle of Champagne every day for the rest of his life.

Following the end of WW2, he travelled France looking for the perfect wine, and on discovering HATT et SÖNER, he ended up ordering 1,000 bottles a year to share with his family.
“Even when you are small you can dream big.”

“It’s all about connecting to the wine. We invite our clients down for the harvest, where they can enjoy learning about the process and connect with each other,”

As for how the vintage process works, clients visit the winery’s vineyards and choose those they like best. Following a number of tastings and advice from winemakers, they usually choose grapes from four out of the 50+ vineyards, and work with the team to select everything from the vinification method to the type of tank or barrel that will preserve their wine.

“We give our clients their own space in our cellar and then let them choose the maturation level, the sugar level and everything in between,” says Ruscon. “It has become far more than just choosing a vintage – it’s about creating individual wines for unique clients, but always to the highest quality.”