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French Wine Scholar > Champagne > Flashcards

Champagne Flashcards

1
Q

What is “disgorgement”?

A

In sparkling wine production, the removal of yeast after the second fermentation

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2
Q

What is disgorgement “à la volée”?

A

Disgorgement by hand (vs. machine)

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3
Q

What is a “mosser”?

A

A 17th century wooden whisk used to release trapped gas from wine

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4
Q

What is the climate of Champagne?

A

Continental with maritime influences

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5
Q

When did the King of France famously allow wine to be sold and transported in bottle?

A

1728

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6
Q

What is the most popular style of Champagne?

A

NV Brut

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7
Q

What city was historically the capital of the Champagne region?

A

Troyes

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8
Q

What is chalk?

A

a porous limestone; a sedimentary rock composed of calcium carbonate

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9
Q

What was the first Champagne house, and when was it founded?

A

Ruinart (1729)

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10
Q

T or F: In Champagne, vineyards are ranked Grand/1er Cru

A

False. It is the village that is ranked.

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11
Q

In Champagne, which is the higher ranking, Grand or Premier Cru?

A

Grand Cru

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12
Q

What are the two types of chalk found in Champagne?

A

Belemnite and Micraster

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13
Q

What is the dominant grape in the Montagne de Reims?

A

Pinot Noir

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14
Q

What is the dominant grape in the Vallée de la Marne?

A

Meunier

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15
Q

What is Kimmeridgean Marl?

A

A limestone-rich clay whose dominat fossil is Exogyra virgula (a small comma-shaped oyster)

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16
Q

What is the dominant fossil found in Belemnite chalk?

A

Ancient arrow- or dart-like relatives of today’s squid

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17
Q

Define “Mono-Parcelle”

A

Single vineyard

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18
Q

Define “Mono-Cru”

A

Single village

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19
Q

What is a “gyropalette”?

A

A mechanized riddling machine

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20
Q

What is a “Blanc de Blancs”?

A

A white sparkling wine made from white grapes

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21
Q

What is the dominant grape of the Grand Vallée de la Marne?

A

Pinot Noir

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22
Q

List the seven dosage levels from driest to sweetest

A 
Brut Nature
Extra Brut
Brut
Extra Sec (or Extra Dry)
Sec (Dry)
Demi-Sec
Doux
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23
Q

What is the dominant grape of the Côte de Sézanne?

A

Chardonnay

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24
Q

What is a “Blanc de Noirs”?

A

A white sparkling wine made from black grapes

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25
Q

What does the abbreviation “RM” refer to?

A

Récoltant-Manipulant; a champagne producer who vinifies only his or her estate-grown grapes

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26
Q

What is a “Tête de Cuvée”?

A

A champagne house’s prestige bottling

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27
Q

What are the three principal grapes of Champagne?

A

Pinot Noir
Meunier
Chardonnay

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28
Q

What are the four authorized (but ancillary) grapes of Champagne?

A

Pinot Gris
Pinot Blanc
Arbane
Petit Meslier

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29
Q

What was the contribution of Veuve Cliquot (Ponsardin) to the champagne method?

A

The process of riddling

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30
Q

T or F: A champagne labeled “Grand Cru” hails from a single vineyard

A

FALSE. A producer with several grand cru-ranked vineyards may blend them and label his wine Grand Cru

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31
Q

Define “Perpetual Reserve”

A

A vat of reserve wine in which multiple vintages of wine are aged together in the same vessel; similar to a solera

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32
Q

T or F: Most Coteaux Champenois production is white.

A

TRUE

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33
Q

What were the two principal grapes of Champagne between the 9th and 16th centuries?

A

Gouais and Fromenteau

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34
Q

What is a “crayère”?

A

Defunct chalk quarries dug by the Romans, now used as wine cellars

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35
Q

What is the dominant grape of the Côte des Blancs?

A

Chardonnay

36
Q

T or F: There is a set blending formula within the Champagne AOC.

A

FALSE. Every champagne house has its own proprietary blend and house style.

37
Q

What is the difference between AOC Coteaux Champenois and AOC Champagne?

A

AOC Coteaux Champenois is 100% still, while AOC Champagne is 100% sparkling

38
Q

Define “remuage”

A

Riddling; the turning and shifting of champagne bottles from horizontal to vertical in order to collect the lees in the neck

39
Q

What does the abbreviation “NM” refer to?

A

Negociant-Manipulant; a champagne producer who incorporates grapes from others into his champagne

40
Q

What is a synonym for “liqueur d’expedition”?

41
Q

What is the dominant grape of the Côte des Bar?

A

Pinot Noir

42
Q

Define “liqueur d’expedition”

A

The mix of sugar and still reserve wine added to champagne after degorgement and before the cork is inserted

43
Q

Define “prise de mousse”

A

“Seizing of the foam”; in champagne production, the second alcoholic fermentation which captures the bubble

44
Q

What is “transversage”?

A

The process of using 750 ml bottles of champagne to fill large (bigger than magnums) and small format bottles after disgorgement

45
Q

What is the primary grape of Rosé des Riceys?

A

Pinot Noir

46
Q

What are the three AOCs in Champagne?

A

Rosé des Riceys AOC
Coteaux Champenois AOC
Champagne AOC

47
Q

T or F: A Blanc de Blancs champagne can only be made from Chardonnay grapes.

48
Q

If your bottle of Champagne is made solely from grapes grown in the Côte des Blancs, what style of champagne are you most likely to be drinking?

A

Blanc de Blancs

49
Q

T or F: A Blanc de Noirs champagne can only be made from Pinot Noir grapes.

A

FALSE. Although Blanc de Noirs champagnes are most associated with Pinot Noir, Meunier can also be used–or they can be a blend of both.

50
Q

What ranking does a Cru need to achieve in order to be used to make champagne?

51
Q

What ranking does a Cru need to achieve in order to be used to make Premier Cru?

52
Q

What ranking does a Cru need to achieve in order to be used to make Grand Gru?

53
Q

T or F: Grapes for champagne can be harvested by hand or machine.

54
Q

Which French King championed champagne and is said to have drunk it at every meal?

55
Q

Which Champagne sub-region has the same soils as those in Chablis–Kimmeridgean Marls?

A

Côte des Bar

56
Q

Meunier is used to make Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs?

A

Blanc de Noirs

57
Q

Chardonnay is used to make Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs?

A

Blanc de Blancs

58
Q

Petit Meslier is used to make Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs?

A

Blanc de Blancs

59
Q

Pinot Blanc is used to make Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs?

A

Blanc de Blancs

60
Q

Arbane is used to make Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs?

A

Blanc de Blancs

61
Q

Pinot Gris is used to make Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs?

A

Blanc de Blancs

62
Q

Pinot Noir is used to make Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs?

A

Blanc de Noirs

63
Q

What are the aging regulations for vintage champagne?

A

12 months on the lees and 36 months in total, minimum

64
Q

What are the aging regulations with NV champage?

A

12 months on the lees and 15 months in total, minimum

65
Q

What is the order of champagne production stages?

A
  1. assemblage
  2. tirage
  3. élevage
  4. rémuage
  5. dégorgement
  6. dosage
66
Q

How many Grand Cru Villages are there in Champagne?

67
Q

Montgeux grows what major grape variety?

A

Chardonnay

68
Q

Vallée de la Marne grows what major grape variety?

69
Q

Côte des Bar grows what major grape variety?

A

Pinot Noir

70
Q

Grande Montagne de Reims grows what major grape variety?

A

Pinot Noir

71
Q

Côte de Sézanne grows what major grape variety?

A

Chardonnay

72
Q

Vitryat grows what major grape variety?

A

Chardonnay

73
Q

Côte des Blancs grows what major grape variety?

A

Chardonnay

74
Q

Grande Vallee de la Marne grows what major grape variety?

A

Pinot Noir

75
Q

In what type of vessel is most champagne fermented?

A

Stainless steel tanks

76
Q

T or F: The Champagne region is relatively small because the vineyards are planted on chalky slopes, rather than the arable flatland which covers most of the region.

77
Q

What does Meunier contribute to the champagne blend?

A

Least amount of alcohol and moderate acidity

78
Q

What does Pinot Noir contribute to the champagne blend?

A

Moderate alcohol and lowest amount of acidity

79
Q

What does Chardonnay contribute to the champagne blend?

A

High alcohol and acidity

80
Q

What was the name for Pinot Gris in Champagne from the 9th to the 16th centuries?

A

Fromenteau

81
Q

T or F: Most rosé champagne is made by bleeding off some of the juice from fermenting red grapes–a saignée.

A

FALSE. Although some rosé champagne is made by the saignée method, most gets its color from the base wine being a blend of white with some red wine added.

82
Q

If a champage producer only vinifies grapes from their own vineyards, which producer code should they show on their label?

A

RM: Récoltant-Manipulant

83
Q

What traumatic, historic even reduced the size of the Champagne region to a fifth of its previous size?

A

Phylloxera

84
Q

Before the Champagne Method was perfected in the 18th and 19th centuries, the wines of Champagne were produced using a less sophisticated process. This is still used in other regions–what is it called?

A

Ancestral Method

85
Q

Rank the order of champagne sweetness levels from driest to sweetest.

A
  1. Brut Nature
  2. Extra Brut
  3. Brut
  4. Extra Sec/Extra Dry
  5. Sec
  6. Demi-Sec
  7. Doux

French Wine Scholar (17 decks)

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