2. Our founder


orn on 3rd October 1776, Henri-Marc de Venoge proved from an early age that he had a good eye for business and a natural penchant for taking risks. He borrowed money from his mother to set up in Italy where he discovered the two loves of his life - business dealing and Italian women. He finally got married in 1812 to Marianna Bellinzaghi and had four children, including Joseph.

Henri-Marc de Venoge

e returned to Switzerland in 1817 but stayed just 8 years before leaving for France. In 1825 he set up in trade in Mareuil-sur-Ay, a business that in 1837 was to become the Champagne House that carries his name. The de Venoge family wasted no time on its way to the top. Records show a first trip to Brussels on 14th March 1838 to establish trading links. 6,000 bottles were sold in March 1838 and 22,000 in April. By May 1838 sales were being made to clients in Brussels and Mannheim and 10,000 more bottles had been sent out. The next stops on the de Venoge expansion programme were London, Pforzheim, Karlsruhe, Fribourg, Ulm, Munich, Antwerp and Copenhagen.

enri-Marc de Venoge was also the first to illustrate his labels, which was a completely new concept in Champagne. Until then, labels had simply shown the name of the producer and the vintage. In 1837, Henri-Marc designed an oval label sporting two painted bottles and the de Venoge name. He retired in 1845 and died in 1860.