The Champagne House in Reims was founded in 1836 by Louis-Alexandre Pommery (1811-1858). In 1856 he bought into the champagne company Greno & Cie, founded by Narcisse Greno, which for some time operated under the name "Pommery & Greno". After the death of the founder, his widow Jeanne Louise-Alexandrine (1819-1890) took over the company in 1858 and expanded it. The early history of the company is thus strikingly similar to that of its competitor
Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. Louise Pommery acquired a very large plot of land around Reims, which contained numerous lime shafts (Crayeres) from Roman times. These are ideal for storing
champagne. An imposing building was erected over the Crayeres, which is still a first-rate tourist attraction today. In 1874, the company was one of the first champagne houses to launch a brut champagne on the market.
Pommery remained in family ownership for almost a century and a half until 1979, when it was acquired by Xavier Gardiner, sold to the BSN food group in 1984, became part of the
LVMH group in 1990 and was finally incorporated into Multi
Vranken in 2002. The vineyard estate comprises around 320 hectares of vines, with the same amount of land being used to purchase grapes. Products are for example Brut Royal, Brut Royal Apanage (both Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier), Brut Millésime (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir), Brut Rosé (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier), Summertime (Chardonnay) and Wintertime (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier). The
Cuvée de Prestige "Cuvée Louise" (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir), named after the wife of the founder, was created in 1985, of which there is also a rosé (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay). The grapes for this top brand come from the Grand Cru communities of
Avize,
Aÿ and
Cramant.
