Domaine Carneros' Legacy of Female Leadership

In 1987, the Taittinger family selected Eileen Crane as Domaine Carneros’ founding winemaker and tasked her with overseeing the planning and construction of the winery. She is one of the industry’s pioneering women and the most experienced American Sparkling winemaker. Eileen’s pursuit of excellence in viticulture, winemaking, and hospitality made us what we are today.

Eileen explains, "I’ll never forget: Newly hired in 1987, I was sitting in the Château construction trailer, on the phone with Claude Taittinger, as he described the family dream to make the finest Blanc de Blancs in America. Le Rêve, French for ‘the dream,’ is Taittinger’s vision brought to life... and my greatest triumph.

I spent years developing the ‘recipe,’ blending our most exceptional Chardonnay. When I achieved it with the 1992 vintage, in celebration, Taittinger commissioned the signature rams’ head cartouche bottle. The blend is based on what I feel is a perfect balance. Think Audrey Hepburn in the little black dress—refined, understated elegance, nothing extraneous; everything brought together with a sense of effortless beauty."

In 2020, Crane passed the baton to Remi and stated, “I have had a long and satisfying career guiding Domaine Carneros to where it is today. My dream from the age of eight was to make delicious sparkling wine. From a little girl in New Jersey through a path of many adventures with twists and turns, eventually I found the career that has been more than a dream come true. And it has been a great pleasure to work with the Taittinger family for 33 years. Remi has all the qualities and more to take us to the next evolutionary step. Her adaptability to the changing demographic and cultural landscape will guide the winery into the future with a steady hand at the helm.” Crane also underscored the high value that the founding Taittinger family has for female leadership.

Madame de Pompadour - with her elegance & style, wit, intelligence, and humor seems the perfect embodiment of Domaine Carneros, but few know of this flamboyant woman or that this rosé is made in her honor.

Madame de Pompadour, born Jean-Antoinette Poisson, was educated in art and dance and used those talents along with her significant intelligence to attract the attention of Louis XV. She contributed her love of culture to the court of Versailles and is said to have wielded influence over foreign policy decisions. She and the King began their affair in 1745 when she was 24 years old, and she remained an integral part of the court until her death at 46. She was granted the title Madame de Pompadour by Louis XV as an official courtesan. Her apartments were full of art and her love of culture was well known. She is said to have captivated the king with plays that she wrote and performed for him.

She loved champagne and brought it to the court, famously saying “Champagne is the only wine that a woman can drink and remain beautiful.” Madame de Pompadour’s fondness of a particular deep pink color led to the color being known as “Pompadour Pink”.

Madame de Pompadour’s portrait proudly hangs at the center of our salon entrance and greets every visitor to our winery. Our Cuvée de la Pompadour rosé was first created at the request of our club members many years ago and today is one of our best sellers.

Vitalie, the great-granddaughter of the founder of Champagne Taittinger, Pierre Taittinger, became the winery's first woman president in 2020. Maintaining a close relationship with Domaine Carneros, she honors the centuries-old traditions of Champagne while leading innovations in sustainability and biodiversity, culinary partnerships, and art collaborations.

Champagne Taittinger is now one of the largest producers, utilizing mostly estate-grown grapes which allows them to have the greatest control over the end product. They firmly believe Champagne should be not reserved for only the “big moments” in life, but rather embracing luxury every day and toasting to life’s little moments too. “Champagne is synonymous with celebration, but its role in the culinary and social experience shouldn't be confined to toasts and milestones.”

Vitalie’s mission is to develop and reinforce the elegant style of the Champagne house and encourage the pursuit of everyday moments of joy. Her background is in art and she is passionate about winemaking being viewed as a craft.

“Champagne Taittinger and Domaine Carneros share similar values and are founded on the same pillars: family, quality, sustainability, and celebration,” states Vitalie. “Sustainability is at the core of both our beliefs because it is a promise to the future. Stewardship of the land that breathes life into vines and grapes ensures that the Taittinger family name, exceptional terroir in France (and California), and their surrounding ecosystems are preserved for future generations.”

“We believe that healthy land produces healthy grapes, which is essential for excellent-quality wines. Celebration is the thread that ties a bow to our relationship. Bubbles are synonymous with joy and celebration, and we are devoted to creating moments every day for our customers to toast and sip their bubbles.” - Vitailie Taittinger

In 2020, Remi Cohen joined Domaine Carneros as CEO, continuing the winery’s tradition of visionary female leadership. Remi has taken our commitment to sustainability to new heights, overseeing the completion of our extensive microgrid in 2023 and making way for even more opportunities to preserve our land.

Domaine Carneros was established in 1987 with a 138-acre parcel in the heart of Carneros, Napa Valley. Since then, we have become known for our méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine, fine Pinot Noir, estate vineyards and a breathtakingly beautiful Château, a landmark of the region and a twin of Taittinger’s Château de la Marquetterie in Reims, France. Today, all of our wines proudly hail from the Carneros appellation, and 100% of our fruit comes from our six sustainably farmed estate vineyards comprising 400 acres.

Every sip of Domaine Carneros supports sustainability. We have pushed the sustainability envelope to ensure the winery lives as lightly on the land as possible while producing world class wines. Domaine Carneros has received certifications from numerous prestigious sustainability organizations including Napa Green Vineyard and Napa Green Winery for our efforts in water and energy conservation and waste diversion. Learn more by continuing to read on our Sustainability page.

Domaine Carneros was one of the early adopters of solar power, installing the largest solar collection system of any winery in the world in 2003. In our efforts to utilize the newest sustainability technologies, in 2023 we were among the first wineries in Napa to install a solar microgrid and battery system. This system enables us to capture more energy and store in a battery system which discharges throughout the night, so we are able to power the winery long after the sun goes down. With this system we are able to meet over 75% of the power needs of the winery and allow us to be self-sustaining during power outages.

“Our collaboration with Champagne Taittinger can be seen before you enter our estate with the château mirrored after Taittinger’s iconic Château de la Marquetterie. That same influence is brought down to the bottle with our adherence to creating terroir-driven sparkling wine and preserving the quality tenets of the traditional method, or méthode traditionnelle. We have our own identity that is central to who we are at Domaine Carneros, but we are intrinsically linked to Champagne Taittinger, and we have been from the start." - Remi Cohen

In honor of Women's History Month, raise a glass to the women who inspire you, from the women of Domaine Carneros. We've curated a collection of two bottles each of our 2019 Brut Rosé, 2019 Estate Brut Cuvée, and 2019 Blanc de Noir to create this exclusive six-pack.

Raise a glass with us to toast women in wine!

Les Vins des Femmes 6-pack is specially priced with 20% savings at $204.80 for our Château Society Members and 15% off $217.60 for Non-Members.