How to pronounce Taittinger

What is Taittinger?

A family-run Champagne house in Reims, France, tracing its origins to 1734 and tied to the Taittinger family since Pierre Taittinger acquired it in 1932.

Taittinger is a Champagne house based in Reims, in northeastern France. It traces its origins to a wine business founded in 1734 by Jacques Fourneaux. In 1932 Pierre Taittinger bought the Château de la Marquetterie from the house of Forest-Fourneaux, and the house, formerly called Forest-Fourneaux, now carries the family name. The Taittingers had moved from Lorraine to the Paris region after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

The family sold the group to an American investment firm in 2005. A year later Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and a regional bank bought the Champagne house back. His daughter Vitalie Taittinger has been president since January 2020. The house says its own vineyards cover 288 hectares.

The cellars are at place Saint-Nicaise in Reims, in Gallo-Roman chalk pits under the site of a medieval abbey, and can be visited on guided tours. The house's top wines carry the name Comtes de Champagne. The Blanc de Blancs of that name is made only from Chardonnay; the rosé version is mainly Pinot Noir.

Taittinger, syllable by syllable

Why Taittinger is hard to say

The name looks like English and German surnames ending in -inger, so the eye expects a sounded g and r. French reads the same letters by its own rules. G before e is the soft zh you hear in Gevrey-Chambertin and Vougeot, never the g of "finger". Final -er is usually read ay with a silent r, the pattern of Viognier and of premier in Premier Cru.

The middle syllable holds a nasal vowel. When French in is followed by a consonant, the n is not said as a separate sound; it sends the vowel through the nose. The same vowel ends Chambertin and opens Saint-Émilion. The ai at the start is a short eh, as in Beaujolais. French stress is light and falls on the last syllable, which is why ZHAY is in capitals.

Other accepted pronunciations

These are also correct, and Vinolingo scores them as correct:

• TAT-in-jer — Established English form.

Tips for saying it

How to order Taittinger

In an English-speaking shop or restaurant, TAT-in-jer is the usual form and is fine to use. Wine media describe it as the usual form in English-speaking countries. In France, or if you want the French form, keep the first two syllables light, skip the r and land on the last beat: teh-tan-ZHAY.

• “Do you have Taittinger by the glass?”
• “We would like a bottle of the Taittinger Brut, please.” Brut is the dry style.
• “Is the Taittinger on your list the Comtes de Champagne?” Comtes is said kawnt, one beat, with a silent s.

Names often confused with Taittinger

• Veuve Clicquot (vuhv klee-KOH): Another Champagne house in Reims, and another name whose last letter is silent.
• Moët & Chandon (moh-ET ay shahn-DAWN): A Champagne house in Épernay whose family name does the opposite of Taittinger and keeps its final consonant.
• Gevrey-Chambertin (zhev-RAY shahm-ber-TAN): A Burgundy village with both sounds of Taittinger: the soft zh of g before e and the nasal vowel written in.
• Champagne (shahm-PAHN-yuh): The region and the wine. Taittinger is one of the houses that make it.

Questions about pronouncing Taittinger

How do you pronounce Taittinger?

In French, Taittinger is pronounced teh-tan-ZHAY, with three syllables, a nasal vowel in the middle, a soft zh for the g and a silent final r. In English it is commonly said TAT-in-jer, and that form is accepted.

Is the r silent in Taittinger?

In French, yes. The ending -er is read ay, so the name closes on an open vowel as in "day", like Viognier. The common English form TAT-in-jer sounds the r in the usual English way, as in Salinger.

Is it TAT-in-jer or teh-tan-ZHAY?

Both are in use. Teh-tan-ZHAY is the French form. TAT-in-jer is the form most English speakers use, and it is widely understood in shops and restaurants. Choose by who you are talking to.

How does the Taittinger house say its own name?

The house's website gives the French pronunciation as three syllables ending in zhay, with a nasal vowel in the middle and no r. Its own respelling writes the middle syllable as tahn. French in is a nasal vowel that English has no letter for, so respellings of it vary.

What does Taittinger mean?

It is a family name, not a French word with a meaning of its own. The Champagne house carries the name of the Taittinger family, who acquired the older wine business of Forest-Fourneaux in 1932 and run the house today.

Sources: Champagne Taittinger: Frequently asked questions, Wikipedia: Taittinger, VinePair: 10 Things You Should Know About Champagne Taittinger. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.