Maison Krug, the renowned Champagne house founded in 1843, has continuously explored new ways to enrich the tasting experience. While music has always played a central role in the Maison’s universe, recent scientific research confirming the influence of sound on taste opened new creative perspectives. Drawing in particular on the work of Charles Spence and Janice Qian Wang at Oxford University’s Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Maison Krug sought to push the boundaries of immersive tasting through a collaboration with IRCAM.
To immerse guests in the Maison’s savoir-faire and the art of blending, the Krug team—including former Cellar Master and Deputy Director Éric Lebel and Alice Tétienne from the winemaking team—challenged researchers to harness sound as a means of expressing the distinctive character of the base wines that compose Krug Grande Cuvée. While these still wines are tasted daily by the Krug Tasting Committee to inform blending decisions, this highly technical process is not easily shared with visitors.
The challenge was therefore clear: how could the experience of tasting base wines be translated into a universal, intuitive language?
Within the STMS laboratory (Sciences et Technologies de la Musique et du Son) at IRCAM in Paris, bringing together teams from the Perception and Sound Design and Acoustic and Cognitive Spaces departments, researchers worked alongside Maison Krug to integrate sound into the tasting ritual. Following extensive exchanges between Krug’s craftsmen and sound specialists, the team proposed linking sonic attributes to tasting notes, creating immersive sound environments capable of conveying each wine’s identity through a multisensory experience.
Composer Roque Rivas was invited to create ten soundscapes, each corresponding to one of the Champagne sub-regions represented in the blend of Krug Grande Cuvée. These compositions reveal the most distinctive qualities of each wine, inviting guests to quite literally “taste” the sound.
At the heart of this experience lies a bespoke immersive sound system developed in close collaboration between IRCAM and Amadeus, whose expertise was central to shaping a seamless and refined listening environment. Designed to merge sound and tasting into a single, coherent experience, the system was integrated into the new Krug Family House in Reims, in dialogue with the architectural vision of AW², the international architecture and interior design agency.
Amadeus engineered a unique sound system specifically for the space, structured around two complementary electro-acoustic configurations. The first, frontal system is integrated into the iconic “Wall of 400 Wines,” which displays the still wines auditioned each year to create a new Edition of Krug Grande Cuvée. It features eighteen Amadeus PMX 4 coaxial loudspeakers distributed across three vertical levels over a nine-metre-wide surface. The second, more immersive system is positioned above and around the guests, comprising eight ceiling-integrated loudspeakers, six custom wall-mounted loudspeakers developed specifically for Krug, and two low-frequency units. In total, the thirty-four loudspeakers are individually amplified, controlled, and processed to ensure maximum precision and fluidity.
Sound content is created and rendered using SPAT, IRCAM’s spatial sound software. The frontal loudspeaker matrix embedded within the Wall of 400 Wines allows for vertical spatialization and highly graphical sound movements, while the immersive configuration enriches the sonic vocabulary, enabling the creation of a parallel soundscape that accompanies the tasting experience.
In parallel, Amadeus led a dedicated electro-acoustic development project to meet both IRCAM’s technical requirements and the aesthetic ambitions of the House of Krug. This resulted in a series of unique loudspeakers, designed by AW² and engineered by Amadeus. Crafted from COR-TEN steel, these bespoke enclosures are laser-cut and welded, then oxidized and stabilized to achieve their distinctive patina, finished with a transparent matte varnish.
This aesthetic, technical, and acoustic challenge was overseen by designer Stéphanie Ledoux in collaboration with AW², alongside Michel Deluc, Amadeus R&D Manager. Each custom loudspeaker houses a long-excursion coaxial transducer with a frequency response extending down to 60 Hz, concealed behind a laser-machined front panel bearing the iconic “K” emblem of the Maison Krug.
Two dedicated low-frequency loudspeakers were also developed: the Amadeus ML 12 K, equipped with 12-inch drivers concealed behind wooden grilles machined with vertical blades that alternate solid material and open space.
Together, this bespoke sound architecture embodies a rare fusion of craftsmanship, technology, and sensory refinement, allowing sound to become an integral part of the tasting ritual.
To discover the Wall of 400 Wines and this immersive tasting experience, visit the Krug website: https://www.krug.com/the-house
