wine

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Laws dating from the Napoleonic era make the business of passing on land complicated and expensive

Sophie Moussié of the Guy Méa Champagne house: “It is my responsibility to conserve this story, this family history.” Picture: Bloomberg

As a little girl helping her parents and grandparents in the rolling vineyards of north-east France, Sophie Moussié declared that she would one day run the family business. These days, three young boys tag along as she works the same rich soil.

Moussié, 35, is the new head of the champagne house Guy Méa. Her maternal grandfather, for whom the winery is named, died last year and her parents decided to retire. She became the ...