(TDB) - Champagne Taittinger is investing as much as €60 million in a new production site on the outskirts of Reims.

ccording to managing director of the house, Damien Le Sueur, the facility will make it easier for lorries to get in and out of the area, while providing Taittinger with better quality winemaking tools.

In particular, he said during a discussion with the drinks business earlier this year that the new facility – which will eventually replace its current winemaking site near the centre of Reims – would help augment the precision of the blending process, as the purpose-built place would contain “lots of new smaller vats”.

Taittinger’s decision to make a substantial investment in Champagne production follows a similar move by a number of other major houses.

Indeed, huge sums have either been recently spent or are being committed to updating production facilities at major-volume maisons such as Lanson, Taittinger, Moët and Veuve Clicquot, as well as smaller but equally high-profile brands such as Bollinger, Pol Roger and Roederer.