Henri Giraud’s well-being revolution: a healthy mind in a healthy body...

last updated 24 December 2021

Henri Giraud’s Coteaux Champenois ‘Triple Zero’ – Zero Pesticides, Zero Insecticides, Zero Herbicides – is the House’s ultimate vision.

Mens sana in corpore sano

“Young people today want brands with integrity and craftsmanship, and are concerned about health and well-being,” said Claude Giraud, the 12th generation of the family at the helm of the eponymous maison. In 2018, Henri Giraud became the first Champagne House and the first estate in the world to promise total transparency by offering customers access, via a QR Code on the back label, to a full analysis of its wines carried out by an independent laboratory.

“It’s a fundamental life choice; one that demands major and ongoing investment, both financial and human, as our family had to progress step by step, over decades, towards what it believes to be excellence in wine,” added Claude Giraud. The cuvée ESPRIT NATURE (nicknamed “Esprit Sain” by its aficionados after the French translation of ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’) represents the quintessence of this approach as incarnated in the House’s historic motto:

“Preclude nothing, be bound by nothing, make good wine naturally”.

Manoir Henri Giraud

For fans the world over, however, the Henri Giraud Experience goes far beyond its champagnes; it is a true art of living based on a Healthy Mind. “I really wanted to create a kind of space where you simply forget about your life for hours, and enter this dimension that has a code, or perspective, that you don’t have on a daily basis. It just allows you to escape for a while, and let your imagination go according to what you see,” explained Emmanuelle Giraud, who runs the estate. “This is why we created Manoir Henri Giraud.”

Adjacent to the Maison’s headquarters, in the heart of Aÿ, this former manor house is a place outside of time, with only a few rooms, where guests can enjoy a unique experience of well-being and calm. Both a hotel and a spa, it was designed to prolong the feeling of serenity generated by the Forest of Argonne through a “shinrin-yoku” (‘forest bathing’) ritual offered to guests.

This medicinal practice, popular in Japan, is an invitation to get closer to nature and its harmony in order to reconnect with our innate ability to heal. Making a connection with trees and plants, and embracing nature through our senses is an essential part of the Henri Giraud Experience, translated into this amazing space.

The manor’s cellar has been converted to house two stunning treatment rooms where guests can enjoy clay or chalk baths, heated tables or grapeseed oil massages. Here we perform Craÿothérapie, a bath and a wrap in chalk from the Champagne terroir, known for its thousand-year-old micro-organisms with restorative, softening, and soothing properties.

Continuous and mindful innovation

The Henri Giraud workshops are never short of new ideas, and the Giraud family intends to keep them running at full steam.

Some of these are plans for cosmetics based on Craÿothérapie, along with further associated treatments. Others include the consolidation of scientific studies on vine DNA tracking, ionic soil mapping and the influence of climate in the vineyard. Calm and well-being are at the heart of each of these projects.

Whether it is work carried out in the vineyards in the heart of the Champagne Grand Cru of Aÿ, revolutionary “0% stainless steel” winery, or a reception area designed to soothe the soul, “it’s all about our commitment to a long-term legacy, conscious decision-making, our signature taste, our genuine rarity and our creative collaborations,” as Claude Giraud likes to remind us.