Champagne Flashcards
What is the soil type in Champagne, how was it created?
70 million years ago, in the Mesozoic era, a vast prehistoric sea covered northern France and Britain. As the water receded and the so-called Paris Basin sank, a great crescent of limestone (rich with minerals and marine fossils) was left behind. 75% limestone, and in many areas a specific type of limestone called chalk.
What is the average temperature in Champagne?
50 F
How many growers in Champagne?
15,000
How many houses in Champagne?
350
Wine has been made in Champagne since the Roman times, but it was only slightly effervescent. When did they find their first major audience?
By the Middle Ages, affluent locals starting drinking it. Champagne was a wealthy region known for its superb and expensive textiles.
What do the houses Krug, Heidsieck, Mumm, and Deutz all have in common?
They were all begun by wealthy German accountants of local textile firms.
When was Champagne first allowed to be shipped in glass bottles, and on whose authority?
In 1728 by French King Louis XV
What was the solution for the cloudy sediment of spent yeast cells being decanted from Champagne in the 1800’s
Remuage!
What is the English word for Remuage?
Riddling
Who invented remuage and when?
1816 by Antoine de Muller, chef du cave at what is now Veuve Clicquot
What is riddling?
The process of removing spent yeasts in one frozen clump from Champagne
Who was the first house to make Champagne with zero dosage, and when?
1846, Perrier-Jouet
How many acres is Champagne entirely?
85,000 acres
Name the seven grapes of Champagne?
Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Fromenteau, Pinot Blanc, Petite Meslier and Petite Arbanne
How many villages are in Champagne?
320 villages
What are the three rankings in Champagne, and how many villages fall within each?
Grand Cru (17), Premier Cru (42), Cru (258)
Name the 17 Grand Cru Champagne villages?
Ambonnay, Avize, Aÿ, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Bouzy, Chouilly, Cramant, Louvois, Mailly Champagne, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry, Puisieulx, Sillery, Tours-sur-Marne, and Verzy
What the average temperature in Champagne?
50 F, the bare minimum for photosynthesis
Why is chalk so good for grapes?
The soft and porous chalk encourages the roots to delve deeply into the earth in search of water.
What are crayeres?
Deep quarries dug by Romans in the 4th century, they are used today by Champagne houses to age champagne. They are as deep as 120 feet, and are shaped like upside pyramids. During WWI 20,000 people lives for years in the crayeres. Clicquot and Ruinart’s were makeshift hospitals.
What are the five mini AOC’s of Champagne?
Montagne de Reims, Cote de Blancs, Vallee de la Marne, Cote de Sezanne, and Cote des Bar
What two mini AOC’s hold all 17 Gran Cru Villages?
Montage de Reims and Cote de Blancs
List the categories of Champagne based on dosage
Brut Nature: < 3 grams per liter Extra Brut: 0-6 grams per liter Brut: <12 grams per liter Extra Dry: 12-17 grams per liter Sec: 12-32 grams per liter Demi-Sec: 32-50 grams per liter Sweet: >50
What is the assemblage?
The blending of dozens of base wines from different years for nonvintage Champagne, the final blend is the assemblage.
What is a prestige cuvee?
A house’s top, most expensive vintage wine
What are the legal minimums for aging on yeasts for nonvintage, vintage, and prestige cuvee?
NV: 15 months
V: 3 years
PC: No requirement
What is liqueur de tirage, and when is it added to Champagne?
A mix of sugar and wine. After the assemblage has been decided on, it is bottled with liqueur de tirage and yeasts, and then capped. Fermentation occurs, and the CO2 is trapped within the bottles. They will rest surlie until they are ready to be degorged.
What is autolysis?
The yeasts’ cell walls begin to disintegrate, spilling the contents of each yeast cell (amino acids, lipids, enzymes) into the wine. The effect is to give the wine an almost magical sense of creaminess, ang greater complexity.
What is riddling?
Turning the bottles upside down, then slightly rotating them twenty-five ish times.
What are gyropalettes?
Large machines that riddle bottles
Explain the process of degorgement
Each bottle is placed, still upside down, in a glycol solution, which freezes the entire length of the neck and its contents. The bottle is then quickly turned upright and the cap is removed, causing the frozen yeasts to shoot out, leaving a clear, bone-dry wine.
How is the empty bottle space post degorgement handled?
It is filled with liqueur d’expedition, a combination of reserve wine and sugar. The amount of sugar is the dosage.
Champagne undergoes reductive and oxidative aging in bottle, when?
Reductive (without oxygen), when the yeasts are still inside the bottle, aka before degorgement. Oxidative after degorgement.
How are blanc de blancs made?
Literally, “white from white”, made entirely from Chardonnay grapes.
How are blanc de noirs made?
Literally, “white from red”, made entirely from red grapes.
What are the two ways to make rose Champagne?
- Saignee: letting base wine sit in contact with pinot noir skins until it picks up enough color to tint the wine pink
- Adding a small amount of still pinot noir wine into each bottle before second fermentation (more common)
Who invented blanc de blancs, when?
Eugene-Aime Salon, in 1921
How much pressure is a Champagne bottle under?
6 atmospheres of pressure
What are the seven steps to making Champagne
- First fermentation in oak or steel barrels
- Blending to create assemblage
- Bottled with liqueur de tirage and yeasts
- Riddling
- Degorgement
- Filled with liqueur d’expedition (reserve wine and sugar). The amount of sugar added is the dosage.
- Corking
