Champage Flashcards
What is the oldest sparkling Champagne house?
Ruinart
What is oldest Champagne house still in operation today, founded in 1584 as a still wine producer?
Gosset
What is vin de cuvée?
First 2050 l of juice extracted from the must.
What are the districts of Champagne?
Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, and the Côte des Bars (the Aube)
How many villages are authorized?
357
Many of the major commercial houses of Champagne are located in what city?
Reims
What is the dominant grape in Montagne de Reims and the Aube?
Pinot Noir
What is dominant grape of Côte de Sézanne? And which one on the southeast- and east-facing slopes of the Côte des Blancs?
Chardonnay on both.
Pinot Meunier is heavily cultivated in the sheltered vineyards of the frost-prone Vallée de la Marne, where its tendency to bud late and ripen early is prized by growers. True or False.
True.
What does RM stands for?
Récoltant Manipulant: A grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate-grown fruit. 95% of the grapes must originate in the producer’s own vineyards.
What is a CM?
Coopérative Manipulant: A growers’ co-operative that produces the wine under a single brand.
What does RC stand for?
Récoltant Coopérateur: A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.
What does SR stand for?
Société de Récoltants: A firm, not a co-operative, set up by a union of often related growers, who share resources to make their wines and collectively market several brands.
What does MA stand for?
Marque d’Acheteur: A “buyer’s own brand”, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.
What does ND stand for?
Négociant Distributeur: A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make
What are Vins Claire?
High-acid base wines- after primary fermentation and, generally, chaptalization. The solids (bourbes) are first allowed to settle out during a phase called débourbage.
What is the liqueur de tirage?
A mixture of still wine, yeasts, sugar, and fining agents that will serve to ignite the second fermentation.
What is the prise de mousse?
Secondary fermentation. Lasts up to 8 weeks. Sugar is converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide.
What is autolysis?
the breakdown of dead yeast cells
What is the assemblage?
Blend that makes up the signature style
What is a pupitre?
two large wooden planks fastened together in an upright “A” shape
For what bottle sizes is the Transfer method allowed?
Larger than a Jeroboam and smaller than a half bottle.
What are the sweetness levels of champagne and their corresponding residual sugar levels?
Extra brut 0-6 Brut 0-12 Extra dry 12-17 Sec 17-32 Demi sec 32-50 Doux 50+
What is the dosage? Other name?
liqueur d’expédition, a liquid mixture of sugar syrup and wine
How long is NV champagne aged in bottle? Vintage?
15 mo. 36 mo.
What is a single vineyard champagne?
From a single vineyard that does not need to be vintage-dated but invariably is. Both large houses and small produce.
What is a Special club prestige cuvée?
Vintage dated, estate bottled wines from 1 of 24 RM producers who have banded together to market their top offerings- all share identical designs.
What are rosé champagnes? Importance of method?
Vintage, NV or prestige bottling are allowed. Made most often by blending in red wine (as opposed to saignée method). Champagne is the only AOP to allow blending to make rosé.
What are the still wines of champagne called?
Coteaux Champenois and Rosé de Riceys
CC- still red, white and rosé wines from the entire appellation
RR- 100% rosé from Pinot Noir from Les Riceys, a cru village in the Aube.
What does N.V. Stand for and represent?
Non-vintage. Generally brut in style, house signature, consistent from year to year. 75% of market.
What is vintage champagne?
Wine must come 100% from stated vintage. Aged at least 36 mo in bottle.
Can only sell 80% of a year’s harvest as vintage.
What is Blanc de Blancs?
Must come from 100% Chardonnay (doesn’t have to be from Côte des Blancs). Can be NV or Vintage. Most ageworthy.
What is Blanc de Noir?
White wine produced solely from black grapes. The wine usually displays richness, intensity, and weight, although it can lack the supreme elegance and finesse of Blanc de Blancs.
What is another name for a Prestige Cuvée?
Tête de cuvée. The finest and most expensive bottling that a house offers, the prestige cuvée is typically (but not always) vintage-dated and aged for a number of years prior to release. Prestige Cuvées are usually only released in superior vintages, and may undergo more traditional vinification procedures
What is the size of a quarter bottle (piccolo)?
187 ml
What is the size of a magnum? Jeroboam?
1.5 L
3 L
What is the size of a Rehoboam? Methuselah?
4.5 L
6 L
What is the size of a Salmanazar?
Balthazar?
Nebuchadnezzar ?
Solomon?
9 L
12 L
15 L
18 L
What are the Grand Cru villages of the Côte de Blancs?
Chouilly (white grapes only), Oiry, Cramant, Avize, Oger,
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
What are the Grand Cru villages of Vallée de la Marne?
Aÿ
Tours-sur-Marne (red grapes only)
What are the Grand Cru villages of Montagne de Reims?
Sillery, Puisieulx, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Verzenay, Mailly, Verzy, Louvois, Bouzy, Ambonnay
During secondary fermentation, what position are the bottles usually stored in?
Sur latte- on their side.
What is the name of the wire cage that covers the cork?
muselet
What is the major river of Champagne?
Marne
What is the maximum juice extraction from a Marc of grapes?
2550 l. A Marc is 4000kg.
What is the Vin de Taille?
The second 500 l of juice. Richer in pigment and tannin. Often sold off or added in small parts to give depth and body.
What is Rebêche?
The 3rd extraction of juice which must equal 1-10% of total. Used for distillate.
How many grand Cru? How many premier Cru?
17 grand Cru. 44 premier Cru.
What is the CIVC?
Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne
Regulatory body for mediating relations between growers and producers. Oversees production methods and promotion of champagne.
What are the four pruning methods allowed for Champagne?
Chablis, Cordon de Royat, Guyot (double and simple), Vallée de la Marne.
What is the Échelle des Crus?
A percentile system by which the villages, or crus, of the Champagne appellation are rated.
Villages that achieve the maximum échelle (“scale”) of 100 are classified as grand crus; villages that achieve an échelle of 90 through 99 are classified as premier cru. The villages below 90 are simply crus.
What is the matriculation number?
A number, put on every bottle, assigned to every producer by the CIVC.
Which of the following methods involves a single fermentation that begins in tank but concludes in the bottle?
- Russian Continuous Method
- Charmat Process
- Méthode Ancestrale
- Méthode Champenoise
- Méthode Traditionnelle
Méthode Ancestrale
What does “RM” indicate on a Champagne bottle?
- The wine was produced by a grower-producer
- The wine was produced by a co-operative
- The wine was produced from purchased grapes
- The wine was purchased, relabeled, and sold under a buyer’s own brand
- The wine was produced by a grower, but vinified by a cooperative
The wine was produced by a grower-producer
What is the most southerly region in Champagne?
- Montagne de Reims
- The Aube
- Côte des Blancs
- Côte de Sézanne
- Vallée de la Marne
The Aube
What are the seven Cremant AOP of France?
Crémant de Bordeaux, Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Loire, Crémant de Limoux, Crémant de Die, Crémant du Jura, and Crémant d’Alsace
What are the other Traditional Method sparking wines of France?
Vouvray, Montlouis-sur-Loire, and Saumur in the Loire; and Vin de Savoie and Seyssel in Savoie and Blanquette de Limoux AOP wines from the Languedoc region.
What is the Méthode ancestrale?
Initial fermentation in tank with wine transferred to bottle before the fermentation is complete- no liqueur de tirage is needed. No dosage allowed. Typically, the wine is disgorged, filtered and rebottled.
What are some wines made in Méthode Ancestrale?
Bugey de Cerdon, Clairette de Die Méthode Dioise Ancestrale, Gaillac Mousseux Méthode Gaillaçoise.
What is the Charmat method? Other names.
Cuve Close or Tank Method.
After primary fermentation, liqueur de tirage added to promote secondary fermentation until appropriate pressure is reached. Wine is then chilled to stop fermentation and allowed to remain for a prescribed time per region. Wine is filtered and bottled, generally with dosage.
What is the effect of the Charmat process?
Larger bubbles, no yeastiness, more fruit and varietal characteristics come through.
Who was Dom Perignon? What house now uses his name for its tête de cuvée?
Original cellar master at Hautvillers. Moët & Chandon.
What is the type of chalk common on the slopes of Champagne?
Belemnite chalk from the fossilized remains of millions of Cephalopods. It has a high limestone content and absorbs heat and light which protects the roots overnight. It also allows roots to dig deep which is linked to high acidity.
What is the common soil in the valleys?
Micraster chalk- named after extinct sea urchin.
What is the dominant soil of the Aube?
Clay
_________ is the release of older vintages of base wine for use in assemblage.
Deblocage.
Rosé de Riceys AOP wines are produced in which region?
Côte des Bars/ Aube
__________ and _________ are the only two premier cru villages rated 99% in the échelle de crus.
Mareuil-sur-Ay and Tauxières.
What is a bouvreux?
A second crop, generally left on the vine at harvest
Mauzac is the dominant grape in which of the following sparkling wine appellations?
Blanquette de Limoux
In the past, Champagne producers performed a process called _________ during lees aging, in which the bottles would be briskly shaken to prevent sediment from sticking to the glass.
Pointage
What are the benefits of chalk soil in Champagne, as pertains yeast? What about its benefits for the vine?
It produces grapes rich in nitrogen – which in turn encourages the activity of yeasts.
It retains moisture and acts as a vine humidifier while retaining heat.
What is the most planted varietal of Champagne? Second?
Pinot Noir. Pinot Meunier.
What does Chardonnay provide in Champagne?
Freshness and finesse.
Name three famous villages in the Côte des Blancs.
Cramant, Avize, and Le Mesnil
What is Taittinger’s tête de cuvée?
Comtes de Champagne
What is Perrier-Jouët’s tête de cuvée?
Fleur de Champagne aka Belle Époque
What house produces Cristal?
Roederer
What does Pinot Noir add for Champagne? Pinot Meunier?
Structure. Fruit character.
16). Match the Téte de Cuvée to its producer
. Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Bollinger
. La Grande Dame Perrier-Jouëf
. La Grande Année Krug
. Grande Cuvée Pol Roger
. Fleur de Champagne. Veuve Clicquot
Churchill Pol Roger La Grande Dame. Veuve Clicquot La Grande Année. Bollinger Grande Cuvée Krug Fleur de Champagne. Perrier-Jouër
Name the Five Regions of Champagne with it’s most planted varietal.
The Aube (Côte des Bars) and Montagne de Reims- Pinot Noir Côte des Blancs and Côte de Sezanne- Chardonnay Vallée de la Marne- Pinot Meunier
What is the dosage, or liqueur d’expédition?
A liquid mixture of sugar syrup and wine
What is the upside-down vertical position?
Sur-pointe
Which is not a Grand Cru village of the Côte de Blancs… A. Cramant B. Bouzy C. Chouilly D. Avize
Bouzy
Which of the following produces carbon dioxide in champagne? Disgorgement Dosage Liqueur de tirage Remuage
Liqueur di tirage
Which of the following is a major center of champagne production? Reims Ay Epernay All of the above
Reims
The term for the process of stirring the lees is called Batonnage? True or False
True
What is the minimum sur lee aging requirement for NV champagne
12 mo
How many bottles got Ina gyropallette?
504
Who put the first brut champagne on the market? Name of champagne? When?
Pommery called “Nature” in 1874.
Where is the region of champagne located? What is the annual average temperature?
48th parallel. 50* F
What is the weight of a “Marc” of grapes?
4000 kg
A coquard basket press holds how many grapes?
Marc
After primary fermentation in champagne, high acid base wines are known as what? And what approx. alcohol content?
Vins Clair’s. 11% alc
When is liqueur de tirage added?
After the assemblage and cold stabilization in the bottle.
What is the secondary fermentation known as in champagne?
Prise de mousse.
How much pressure is created by CO2 during secondary fermentation ?
5-6 atmospheres
Who produces ‘Cuvée Laetitia’ and in which village?
H. Billiot. Ambonnay.