Maison vs Grower-Champagne (RM/NM/CM/RC codes)

According to the Comité Champagne, until the mid 20th century almost all Champagne growers produced grapes which they then sold to the Champagne houses, which then made and marketed the wine. From the 1950s, the practice known in French as "manipulation" began to develop, as growers joined cooperatives that pressed and stored their grape yields; other growers began to make and market own-label Champagne, and they are called Récoltants manipulants. The two families organised separately: the houses founded the Syndicat du commerce des vins de Champagne in 1882, which has since become the Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC), and the growers' trade union, the Syndicat Général des Vignerons (SGV), was established in 1904. Since 1941, growers and houses have worked together within the Comité Champagne, a joint trade association that the Comité says places both groups of stakeholders on an equal footing. On the label, the registration and code number issued by the Comité Champagne is preceded by two initials that indicate the category of producer. The INAO's Champagne page lists a decree of 12 April 1999 on the labelling of wines under the Champagne appellation among the texts governing the designation.

• Until the mid 20th century almost all growers sold their grapes to the houses, which made and marketed the wine (Comité Champagne)
• From the 1950s growers began joining cooperatives that pressed and stored their yields, while others began making and marketing own-label Champagne as Récoltants manipulants (Comité Champagne)
• The houses founded the Syndicat du commerce des vins de Champagne in 1882, now the UMC; the growers' SGV was established in 1904; both have worked within the Comité Champagne since 1941
• The two-letter code precedes the Comité Champagne registration and code number on the label and indicates the category of producer

The Comité Champagne describes the houses as crafting their Champagne themselves using grapes bought from the growers, or using clear, natural base wines, in addition to grapes sourced from their own vines if they have some, and as choosing the different crus that go into blending their cuvées in line with the house's signature style. Their expertise, per the Comité, is tied to the selection of crus, storing reserve wines and making their cuvées, which they cellar to perpetuate the style of the house, with the cellar master blending wines from different vintages year on year. Non-vintage Brut, the most common Champagne according to the Comité, can be a blend of several years and is typically the wine whose style is perpetuated year on year by the brand. Size varies: the Comité notes that fame is not necessarily synonymous with large volumes, and that some houses stay extremely confidential, with very limited yields. The Comité's houses page says the Union des Maisons de Champagne brings together 370 houses, while its 2025 key figures count 410 houses. In 2025 the houses shipped 191.9 million bottles and earned €4.4bn, 79% of Champagne's €5.7bn in revenues, according to the Comité Champagne. Writing on JancisRobinson.com, Jancis Robinson describes the champagne business as having long been a delicate balance between the growers who grow the grapes and the big houses who buy them.

• Houses buy grapes from growers, or clear, natural base wines, alongside any grapes from their own vines (Comité Champagne)
• The cellar master blends wines from different vintages year on year to perpetuate the house's signature style; storing reserve wines is part of the houses' expertise (Comité Champagne)
• Not every house is large: the Comité Champagne says some stay extremely confidential, with very limited yields
• 2025: the houses shipped 191.9 million of 266.1 million bottles and earned €4.4bn of €5.7bn in revenues (Comité Champagne)

The Comité Champagne says nearly 90% of the Champagne area under vine is owned and tended by growers, whose numbers have grown to more than 16,000, and its 2025 key figures count 16,460 growers. Most of the grapes harvested by Champagne growers are still sold to the houses. A grower who makes and markets own-label Champagne from grapes exclusively sourced from their own vineyards is a Récoltant Manipulant, and the Comité's advice for spotting one is to look at the label for "RM". In smaller wineries, the Comité notes, the roles of winegrower, cellar master and oenologist are assumed by one and the same person, the Grower. The growers' interests are defended by the Syndicat Général des Vignerons, which the Comité says represents more than 99% of growers in Champagne. Writing on JancisRobinson.com, Jancis Robinson describes a fashion for growers' champagnes in champagne's major export markets, with consumers branching out into much smaller volume wines, often with more individuality, made by the growers themselves, and names importers Terry Theise in the US and Vine Trail in the UK as having made a speciality of selecting champagne growers.

• Nearly 90% of the area under vine is owned and tended by growers; 16,460 growers in 2025 (Comité Champagne)
• RM on the label means the grower makes and markets own-label Champagne from grapes exclusively sourced from their own vineyards (Comité Champagne)
• In smaller wineries one person, the Grower, takes the roles of winegrower, cellar master and oenologist (Comité Champagne)
• Jancis Robinson (JancisRobinson.com) links the fashion for growers' champagnes to consumers seeking much smaller volume wines, often with more individuality

Cooperatives sit between the two models: the Comité Champagne describes them as an option halfway between the growers making their own Champagne and the houses. Récoltants coopérateurs share their grape yields with their cooperative, which presses the grapes, turns them into wine and organises the blends; the bottles are then either sold under the name of the cooperative or of a brand it has designed, or the grower retrieves the bottled wine after the second fermentation to market it as their own label. On the label, CM means the Champagne was sold directly by the cooperative, and RC means the grower personally marketed the bottle, according to the Comité Champagne. The first Champagne cooperative was established in 1921, and the Comité counts 120 cooperatives in its 2025 key figures. The remaining codes cover other routes to market: SR stands for Société de Récoltants; an ND (Négociant Distributeur) buys finished bottles of Champagne and labels them in its own name on its own premises; and MA (Marque d'Acheteur) marks a brand owned by a third party who is not the producer, such as a supermarket own-brand. Jancis Robinson writes on JancisRobinson.com that the code is "not a sure-fire guide to quality", and reports that a blind tasting of 64 champagnes organised by London brokers Fine & Rare Wines demonstrated that growers' champagne is not necessarily superior.

• CM: a wine co-op that markets Champagne made on co-op premises from members' grapes (Comité Champagne)
• RC: a co-op grower who markets co-op-produced Champagne under their own label (Comité Champagne)
• ND buys finished bottles and labels them in its own name; MA is a third-party brand such as a supermarket own-brand (Comité Champagne)
• Jancis Robinson (JancisRobinson.com) calls the code not a sure-fire guide to quality

Primary sources (Comité Champagne and INAO): https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/a-great-blended-wine/champagne-bottles-bottling, https://www.champagne.fr/en/champagne-frequently-asked-questions, https://www.champagne.fr/en/find-out-more/champagne-industry/the-champagne-growers, https://www.champagne.fr/en/find-out-more/champagne-industry/the-champagne-houses, https://www.champagne.fr/en/find-out-more/champagne-industry/the-champagne-cooperatives, https://www.champagne.fr/en/find-out-more/champagne-at-a-glance, https://www.champagne.fr/en/find-out-more/champagne-industry, https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/a-great-blended-wine/champagne-and-its-people, https://www.champagne.fr/en/glossary, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/champagne-21054. Secondary sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/rm-champagne-no-shortcut-to-quality, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/cracking-champagne-codes. Last verified 2026-09-24