Maison Ruinart appoints new cellar master.
Caroline Fiot will lead the winemaking team at Champagne Ruinart from January 2026, succeeding Frédéric Panaïotis, who died in a freediving accident earlier this year.
Maison Ruinart has appointed Caroline Fiot as its new cellar master. She will officially assume the role from 1 January 2026, but will be “gradually joining the Maison” from today, db can reveal, and will therefore play a part in the base tastings of the 2025 harvest.
Describing Fiot as “a true Chardonnay expert”, Ruinart announced that she will be tasked with building on the Champagne house’s “commitment to innovation, from vineyard to glass” as well as “strengthening its dedication to sustainable viticulture.”
Frédéric Dufour, president of Maison Ruinart said: “Transmission and excellence are core values at Maison Ruinart. They uphold a savoir-faire nearly three centuries old, which continuously evolves and perfects itself. We are delighted to welcome Caroline Fiot as our new cellar master. She was trained alongside Frédéric Panaïotis for nearly a decade and has been a key member of our tasting committee since 2016. She will now continue the work of her predecessor, upholding the precision and freshness that define our Champagnes.”
Tragic accident
Panaïotis died in June, aged 60, after a shock freediving accident during a training exercise near an old marble quarry in Rochefontaine, Belgium. On his second descent to 25 metres, he reportedly became detached from the rope, and his body was recovered later. Panaïotis was a skilled freedriver with more than 15 years experience. Members of the trade expressed their fondness and admiration for the winemaker who was held in great regard.
“It is a profound honour to continue shaping the Ruinart style, following in the footsteps of Frédéric Panaïotis,”said Caroline Fiot. “I share Champagne’s deep-rooted respect for time, and I’m proud to take my place in the history of a Maison guided by a visionary spirit since 1729.”
Fiot, an agricultural engineer and oenologist educated at Institut Agro in Montpellier (France) and ESSEC Business School, first joined Ruinart in 2016 as part of the winemaking team led by Panaïotis. She became a member of the tasting committee and oversaw fermentation processes during harvest. Alongside these responsibilities, she led several R&D projects, including studies into light strike and its impact on Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, and also helped develop the first edition of new cuvée Ruinart Blanc Singulier.
She has also previously worked at Chandon in Argentina and Moët & Chandon in Épernay.
Ruinart said she has been entrusted with “shaping the Maison’s emblematic cuvées, and preserving the harmony and elegance at the heart of the wines.”
Information from The Drinks Business
