But every exploration begins with a home port.
Before the depths. Before the adventure. Before the Champagne itself, there is Chouilly.
There, on the slopes of the Côte des Blancs, the roots of Hostomme’s Grand Cru Chardonnay reach into a heritage far older than human history. Long before the Vikings. Long before the first winegrowers. Long before Champagne existed as we know it today.
Nearly 70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period, a warm sea covered this part of Europe. Over the millennia, the marine organisms that inhabited those waters left behind vast limestone deposits. Compressed by time, they formed the white chalk that has become the signature of the Côte des Blancs.
It is within this living rock that the Grand Cru Chardonnay vines of Chouilly take root.
Metre by metre, their roots carve a path through the chalk, drawing the water and minerals necessary for their balance. This intimate relationship between vine and chalk shapes the identity of the terroir: a natural freshness, an elegant tension, a purity of expression and that delicate minerality for which the great Chardonnays of Chouilly are renowned.
"Every great adventure begins with an idea that nobody understands. At first, it seems ridiculous. Then it seems dangerous. And one day, it becomes obvious."
Every bottle of VIKKA therefore carries within it two journeys.
The first begins in the geological depths of the Late Cretaceous, when the sea was slowly shaping the foundations of the Champagne terroir.
The second continues underwater, when the Champagne begins its own journey into the depths.
Between the chalk born from vanished oceans and the immersion within contemporary waters, VIKKA ultimately tells a single story: one of time, nature and exploration.
A story that begins in the sea. And returns to the sea.
Every great adventure begins with an idea that nobody understands. At first, it seems ridiculous. Then it seems dangerous. And one day, it becomes obvious. The story of VIKKA began in much the same way.
"He wanted to understand. To observe. To compare. To experiment. To let time speak differently."
In Chouilly, at the heart of the Côte des Blancs, the Hostomme family has cultivated the land for centuries. A presence so deeply rooted that its origins sometimes blur into local legend.
The Hostomme name is said to trace its roots back to Germanic peoples who travelled south from Northern Europe. Some even speak of Viking ancestors who crossed seas and territories before settling in Champagne several centuries ago.
Whether historical fact or a story passed down through generations hardly matters in the end.
Because the spirit remains. The spirit of explorers. The spirit of those who refuse to follow paths already laid out. The spirit of those who see the unknown not as a threat, but as an invitation.
From Paul-Alexandre to Laurent Hostomme, each generation has pushed beyond the limits of its time.
Replanting after phylloxera. Rebuilding after war. Opening international markets. Expanding the vineyard. Modernising production tools.
Always moving forward. Always exploring. And then one day, a question emerged. What if the sea could become the ideal cellar? Most innovative ideas are first met with scepticism.
Why immerse bottles of Champagne? What purpose could it serve? Why take such a risk when Champagne cellars already provide ideal ageing conditions?
The reactions were sometimes amused. Sometimes doubtful. Sometimes critical. As is often the case when stepping off the beaten path.
Yet behind the intuition lay a genuine scientific question. For several years now, researchers, oenologists and producers around the world have been studying the influence of underwater environments on the ageing of wine. Stable temperatures. Complete darkness. The absence of mechanical vibrations. Constant pressure. The depths offer a fascinating natural laboratory.
For Laurent Hostomme, this was never about creating a marketing gimmick. He wanted to understand. To observe. To compare. To experiment. To let time speak differently.
And so VIKKA was born.
A cuvée whose ageing continues, in part, beneath the water. Far from the noise of the world. In the silence of the depths.
Where the seasons no longer disturb the rhythm of the wine. Where nature becomes a partner in the ageing process. Month after month, each bottle continues its evolution within this unique environment.
When it returns to the surface, it bears the marks of its journey. The glass is sculpted by the water. Shaped by the currents. Colonised by marine life. No bottle resembles another.
Like stones polished by the ocean. Like treasures recovered after a long voyage.
But the true richness lies within. In the meeting between the expertise of a Champagne family and an unmistakably exploratory spirit. In the desire to question what seems obvious rather than simply accept it.
VIKKA is the result of a simple conviction: Innovation is not a break from tradition. It is its natural continuation.
The Vikings did not cross oceans because they were certain they would arrive. They set sail because they were curious to discover what lay beyond the horizon.
Laurent Hostomme shares that same philosophy. To explore without denying one's roots. To experiment without forgetting one's heritage. To move forward without losing sight of what matters most.
Today, what once seemed surprising has become part of a broader reflection on the evolution of ageing methods and new expressions of Champagne.
As is so often the case in the history of pioneers: What once seemed ridiculous becomes conceivable. What once seemed dangerous becomes manageable. What once seemed impossible becomes obvious.
VIKKA is far more than an underwater-aged Champagne.
It is an adventure. An experience. A tribute to the ancestors who came before and the visionaries of today.
A cuvée born from the soils of Chouilly, shaped by time and revealed by the depths. A Hostomme signature. An invitation to look beyond the horizon.
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