During the years I got to know Dom Pérignion‘s iconic winemaker Richard Geoffroy, I have not been able to escape his fascination with Japanese culture. As Chef du Cave for the world’s most prestigious brand, he traveled the world and enjoyed Japan very much. The Japanese’s immense respect for tradition and time-consuming wisdom, their ability to dive into details to achieve perfection even though it can take a lifetime to get there, was entirely in Richard’s taste.
Richard, no 1 as I came to call him, my over time, close friend in Champagne is certainly original French in many ways, but most of all he is a global world citizen with a philosophy of life that should be able to beat all the world today in such misinterpreted religions. The French genius has been influenced a lot by Japanese culture. His Yin and Yang-driven search for balance and harmony, his humble respect for his fellow human beings, his good-natured belief in humanity, his sense of minimalism and purity breathe more Kyoto than Paris.
