Testing labs in Épernay

Œnologie Conseil Champagne (O2C) is a specialist wine-industry laboratory and oenological consulting service operating from two dedicated sites in the heart of the Champagne appellation: the primary facility at 44 Allées de Cumières in Épernay (Marne département) and a second laboratory at 2 Impasse des Vignes in Bar-sur-Seine (Aube département). O2C functions as a subsidiary of the CSGV (Coopérative du Syndicat Général des Vignerons de Champagne), the historic cooperative supply-and-services organization founded in 1947 to support Champagne vignerons across the entire growing zone. Serving independent winegrowers, négociants, and Champagne houses in both the Marne and Aube sub-regions, O2C provides the full spectrum of analytical testing, technical advisory, and oenological product supply needed to craft, quality-assure, certify, and commercialize Champagne wines from grape to bottle. At the core of O2C's analytical offering is a comprehensive suite of routine and official laboratory analyses (analyses courantes et officielles) covering the physico-chemical parameters central to wine quality and legal compliance. These encompass measurement of alcohol content, total and volatile acidity, residual sugars, pH, tartaric and malic acid concentrations, carbon dioxide pressure (critical for sparkling wine), and free and total sulfur dioxide (SO₂). The laboratory conducts three formally recognized categories of official analyses within the French and European wine regulatory framework: everyday routine analyses, detailed fine analyses (analyses fines) for in-depth quality characterization, and competition analyses (analyses pour concours) certifying wines submitted to official tastings and awards events, all performed to specifications set by the relevant French regulatory authorities governing Champagne production. Export certification analyses represent a further pillar of the O2C analytical portfolio, addressing the broader panel of tests mandated by importing-country regulations and EU wine law for wines leaving France. This export panel encompasses pesticide residue screening, heavy-metal determinations (lead, arsenic, cadmium, and copper), and ochratoxin A quantification — a mycotoxin regulated in wine under EU standards. Mandatory allergen declarations required since EU Regulation 2021/2117 are also supported: O2C conducts analyses for fining-agent allergens including egg-derived albumin (ovalbumin), milk-derived casein, and fish-derived gelatin or isinglass, enabling producers to meet current EU labeling obligations. Wine stability testing — including protein stability (heat test) and tartrate stability assessments essential for preparing wines ahead of bottling or tirage (the second-fermentation dosage step in Champagne production) — is integrated into the analytical service. Where ultra-trace or highly specialized determinations are required, O2C draws on partnerships with external specialist laboratories for advanced fine analyses, a capability explicitly noted on the laboratory's own website. Beyond pure laboratory measurement, O2C delivers structured oenological consulting through a team of six accredited oenologist-consultants (œnologues-conseil): Laurent Achddou, Sébastien Boever, Maximilien Danré, Camille Durdon, Aurélie Poulain, and Bernard Richet, each reachable by direct mobile contact and collectively covering both the Marne and Aube production areas. Consultants design and implement tailored winemaking itineraries (itinéraires œnologiques spécifiques) for clients developing distinctive cuvée styles, including parcel-level winemaking (élaboration de cuvée parcellaire), sulfur-free (vinification sans soufre) approaches, and bioprotection strategies that deploy protective microorganism populations to reduce or eliminate conventional sulfite treatments. The team actively monitors regulatory developments governing organic and biodynamic winemaking within the Champagne AOC, advising clients on Bio-vinification compliance and available approved technical interventions. O2C's sensory analysis and tasting facility, housed at the Épernay site, supports formal tasting panels and sensory evaluation sessions covering multiple applications: validation of oenological processes and product trials, selection of wines purchased sur lattes (in bottle following second fermentation), and assemblage (blending) sessions that are central to Champagne cuvée construction. Equipment rental services extend the laboratory's practical reach to the cellar floor, with barrel mixers (mélangeurs), cartridge filters (filtres à cartouche), and washing lances (cannes de lavage) available on a hire basis. O2C also supplies a full catalog of high-quality oenological inputs — fining agents, yeasts, processing aids, and laboratory consumables — giving Champagne producers integrated access to both testing and materials from a single regional partner. The laboratory team at O2C includes three experienced technicians — Laura Barjot, Chloé Noiret, and Aurélie Dosso — supporting day-to-day analytical operations across both sites. The Épernay laboratory operates Monday to Thursday 08:00–12:00 and 13:30–17:30, with slightly reduced Friday hours (08:00–12:00 / 13:30–16:30). Bar-sur-Seine maintains Monday to Friday 08:00–12:00 and 14:00–17:00. Both sites are accessible by direct telephone and email, ensuring producers across the geographically dispersed Champagne vineyard can obtain rapid local support during critical production windows such as harvest, tirage, and disgorgement. O2C's institutional home within the CSGV group — which since 1947 has operated 18 supply points across the Champagne appellation and today coordinates specialist services in champagnisation (second fermentation, riddling, disgorgement), glass packaging, soil amendments, logistics, and cellar filtration — confers a breadth of organizational resources that few standalone wine laboratories can match. Field interventions such as the Sartorius Jumbo Star large-format filtration service, deployed by CSGV's champagnisation team directly at producer facilities, are an example of the group's integrated, on-site technical capability. For winegrowers, cooperatives, and Champagne houses in the Marne and Aube seeking a rigorous analytical laboratory combined with expert oenological guidance and direct access to production inputs, O2C at Épernay represents a deeply embedded, regionally authoritative, and comprehensively resourced testing and advisory partner.