The Champagne House, based in Reims, vies with Gosset for the honour of being the oldest in Champagne. It was founded in 1729 by the cloth merchant Nicolas Irénée Ruinart (1697-1769), who sold his customers wine from his vineyard as well as cloth. His uncle was the Benedictine monk Dom Thierry Ruinart (1657-1709), who visited the famous Hautvillers Abbey, met Dom Pierre Pérignon (1638-1715) and his winemaking techniques there and also died and was buried here. Dom Ruinart recognised the future potential for the production of champagne during his trading trips in Europe through the growing enthusiasm at the aristocratic courts. Inspired by his prominent uncle, Nicolas Ruinart devoted himself to the wine techniques of the Benedictine monks. He was supported in this by his son Claude Ruinart (1731-1798) and the company name was expanded to Ruinart Père et Fils. After his father's death, Claude moved the company's headquarters from Epernay to Reims and expanded the champagne trade.
His son Irénée Ruinart (1770-1850), who succeeded him, built up a prominent clientele, including the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) and the French politician and diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (1754-1838). Napoleon's first wife Joséphine Beauharnais (1763-1814) loved champagne from this house and refused to pay for it after their divorce. The next two generations of the family, Edmond and Edgar, expanded trade relations to the USA and Russia. At the beginning of the 19th century, the famous cellar master Anton Müller (the inventor of remuage) of the champagne house Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin married a Ruinart and founded the Müller-Ruinart champagne house, which no longer exists today. Robert Schlumberger (1814-1879), who came from Stuttgart and who later produced the first sparkling wine in the then Austria-Hungary using the champagne method, learned this art from Ruinart in the mid-19th century. Until 1963, the management of the Ruinart house remained entirely in the hands of the founding family. It was then taken over by Moët et Chandon and later became part of the LVMH group.
The house is committed to biodiversity and sustainability as well as a number of energy-saving measures. Its own vineyards cover 20 hectares. The vineyards are cultivated with manual soil cultivation, with cover crop flowering and useful plants, as well as a complete renunciation of herbicides. Since 2014, it has been certified with the sustainability label "Viticulture durable en Champagne" initiated by the Comité Champagne. The champagnes that are stored for longer than six to seven years are sealed with natural corks for bottle fermentation, because tests have shown that the resulting minimal oxygen contact is very positive. This applies primarily to the "Dom Ruinart" prestige cuvée named after the founder's uncle, which is counted among the best Blanc de blancs. The "Ruinart Brut is" blended from 40% Chardonnay, 49% Pinot Noir and 11% Pinot Meunier, plus 20 to 25% reserve wines from the 2 previous years. The Millésime "Rosé" contains 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot Noir. About 1.7 million bottles of champagne are produced annually. In 1997, the House of Ruinart initiated a professional competition for sommeliers, which is now held annually in numerous countries. The best young sommeliers are chosen and honoured with the "Trophée Ruinart".
