Same Name, Different Truths: Brand Architecture and the Governance of Authenticity in Champagne

Abstract Collective territorial brands face a distinctive challenge: a shared designation must sustain recognition without making every producer communicate the same identity. This article examines four Champagne producers—Krug, Jacques Selosse, Egly-Ouriet, and Pierre Péters—and develops the concept of differentiated verification under shared territorial authorization. This refers to an arrangement in which a common geographical designation supplies institutional recognition while producers make their identities legible through different public evidentiary repertoires. Drawing on qualitative comparative documentary analysis, the article identifies four configurations: assemblage and continuity at Krug; producer interpretation of site through élevage at Selosse; release-specific technical disclosure at Egly-Ouriet; and named-site provenance organized through parcel vinification and blending at Pierre Péters. The comparison suggests that territorial coherence need not depend on a uniform producer narrative or a single hierarchy of authenticity signals. The article further distinguishes boundary governance, which establishes the conditions of designation use, from meaning governance, through which territorial significance is represented and contested. It contributes to place-brand theory by explaining how differentiated producer identities can coexist within a collective territorial brand, while identifying questions for future research on audience reception and institutional governance.