Champagne Flashcards
how far is champagne from paris
1.5 hour drive
what does champagne mean?
Champagne takes its name from the Latin “campagna” meaning “unforested land” or ”open country”.
What is champagne climate?
Continental Climate
– but with maritime influences
– Grapes barely ripe, which what gives it the unique taste
What are the champagne soils?
Chalk, limestone-rich marls, and composites of sand and clay
What is a Crayères?
system of galleries that used to be quarries. Roman era, used to create buidling material from the chalk.
Press style?
vertical press created. Full clusters pressed on arrival for clear juice.
Beleminte soil?
Fossil squid. preferred soil. upper/mid slope
micraster soil?
fossil sea urchin, flattening slope
limestone rich marl location?
Montagne de Reims and Cotes de Bar. Doesnt hold mosture like chalk. Preferred for Pinot Noir. Some limestone areas also have “Kimmeridgean Marl” which is oyster fossils.
Sand/Clay soil location?
Vallee de la Marne, Val de Reims, Cotex Sudd’Epernay. Clay is tigh to tart, exposes true aromas. Sandy - open to easy drinking and upfront fruit.
What are the regions in the Heart of Champagne?
Cotes de Blanc, Vallee de La Marne, Montagne de Reims.
Where did the Champagne fair take place?
use to be known for trading post due to the fair grounds in Troyes called “La Place de Fares”. Rems was known for wool trade, and they would gift champagne to their traders… increased interest.
Whats significant about King Louis XIV
allowed champagne to be sold in bottles to keep the bubbles. 1728
Who started sabering Champagne
Napolean and his army when they took over a town, village on horse back.
When did Champagne can only call it’s self champagne?
Court of Appeal 1887
What is Vins Claire?
First Fermentation, grapes ferm low temp and separate varietals
What is Assemblage?
Blending after First Fermentation to make the Cuvee, rose can be saignee or add pinot to Vins Claire.
What is Tirage?
When liquor of Tirage is added to the bottles. Prise de mousse “seizing the foam”
What is Elevage?
second fermentation in the sur lattes. 30 days or more. 70% must be of current vintage.
what is Remuage?
Riddling. moving the dead yeast to the top of the bottle. 3 months by hand or gyropalletes is 1 week.
What is Degorgement?
Disgorging. chilled at 45, neck is frozen in a solution. “Disgorgement a la volee” = disgorged by hand.
What is Dosage?
Liquer d’Expedition, or Liquer de Dosage”. Wine lost at Degorgement will add back identical wine and add sugar.
What is Resting?
Bottles waiting in the cellar to fully develop.
What is non-vintage?
no specific harvest year. Less aging is 12 months + 3 months of additional bottle aging = 15 months total
what is vintage?
specific harvest year, less aging for 12 months, 2 years bottle aging = 36 months
What is Transverage?
using 750s to fill up smaller or larger bottles
what were the original grapes used in 9-16th century
Govais and Fromenteau grapes
What is Tete de Cuvee?
house prestige cuvee
What are the 3 AOCs
Rose des Riceys, Coteaux Champagne, Champagne
T/F: is champagne the largest AOC in value
True
How many grand crus?
17
What is Echelle des Crus?
the scale of growth of village rank, not vineyard rank. Must have 80% rating to produce in Champagne.
How many premier crus?
42
Most popular type of champagne?
Brut non-vintage
Val De Reims
Vesle and Arde Valleys, Sandy/Clay/Moral, Meunier
Massif De St Thiery
Most north, sandy/clay, Meunier primary.
Mont de Berru
Chalk soil, 90% Chardonnay
Montgane De Reims
limestone rich marls with pockets of chalk, Pinot Noir. Epernay upland/sub region.
Valle De La Marne contains?
Grand Valle de la Marne, Valle de La Marne Coteaux Sud d’Epernay
Valle De La Marne?
Menuier, sand marl and clay, Conde uplift of limestone is more west. West is located on lower slopes and mostly Menuier. Going south-east towards Cotes des Blancs it has chardonnay.
Grand Valle de la Marne
SW of Montgane Reims, Marne river flows west from paris, most prestigious of Valle De La Marne. Menuier, has a lot of premier and grand cru
Valle de La Marne Coteaux Sud d’Epernay
soils are marne meets cotes des blanc, in the center of Marne, due to the soil type it is split between Meunier and Chardonnay. Little pinot.
Cotes des Blanc
Famous chalk, 97% Chardonnay, important grand crus and premier crus.
Cotes de Sezanne
hilly chalk, chardonnay
Cotes de Blanc outlining areas
- Petit Morin: chalk, sand, marl, clay, chardonnay/meunier
- Vitryat: face east, chalk, Chardonnay
- Montquex: southern, chalk, Chardonnay
Cotes Des Bar
Kimmevidgean Marl, Pinot
What type of chalk is found in the upper to mid vineyard slopes, and so is ideal for sun exposure and water drainage?
Belemnite
What is the name of the upland sub-region to the north of Épernay?
Montagne de Reims
Who is Cloves
First king of Franks, baptised on christmas by the Bishop of Reims, leading all franks to christianity, Royal Coronation in Reims,
what is the champagne riots?
Attempts to protect the use of the word “champagne” – together with the work of recovering from phylloxera – led to the need to define the boundaries of the Champagne wine region for the first time.
This was carried out in 1908 and – together with a run of devastatingly small harvests resulting in terrible hardship – led to severe unrest across Champagne. Ay was hit the hardest, many champagne houses here, town ransacked and a lot of damages.
Aube was excluded, shock since Troyes was once the capitol of Champagne.
Who was baptised in Reims on Christmas Day 496, by Saint Remigius, the Bishop of Reims?
Clovis
Which Champagne house can claim to be the oldest?
Ruinart
what vine training is allowed?
Chablis (90% chardonnay), Cordon (main training for Pinot), Guyot, Valle de la Marne (exclusively for Meunier works for Valle’s freezing temps)
What names can be given for the mixture added to each bottle towards the end of the process that defines the champagne style?
liqueur de dosage and liqueur d’expédition
Which champagne grape gives the least amount of acidity to a blend?
Pinot Noir
What is the third most planted grape in Champagne?
Chardonnay
NM: Negociant Manipulant
Term describing a champagne producer that incorporates grapes purchased from others in their wines.
Most big houses are NMs.
RM: Recoltant-Manipulant
Term describing a champagne producer only uses their own estate-grown grapes. These are often referred to as grower champagnes.
An RM does not purchase grapes from others.
RC: Recoltant Cooperateur
Term referring to a grape grower affiliated with a winemaking co-operative cellar.
An RC brings their grapes to the co-operative which vinifies them.
The RC then retrieves the finished wine and sells it under their own, private label.
SR: Societe de Recoltants
Term referring to a group of grape growers who jointly vinify their grapes and market a champagne, or range of champagnes under a collective label.
CM: Cooperative de Manipulation
Term referring to a co-operative cellar which vinifies the grapes of its member growers.
MA: Marque Auxillaire, Marque d’Acheteur, or Marque Autorisee
A private label registered by any individual, group or society (restaurant, wine store, supermarket etc.) with the purpose of selling to their customers or members. The source of the wine could be any of the other types of champagne producer.
ND: Negociant Distrubuteur
Term referring to a wine buyer who purchases finished wines and gives them their own private label.
In which sub-region of Champagne is Rosé des Riceys produced?
Côte des Bar
What is the system for deciding whether a village is a Premier Cru, Grand Cru, or neither, called?
Échelle des Crus
T/F: A Blanc de Blancs champagne can only be made from Chardonnay grapes.
False: Chardonnay is by far the most widely grown white grape, so almost all Blanc de Blancs champagnes are made from that – however there are tiny amounts of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbanne and Petit Meslier, all of which can be used to make a Blanc de Blancs champagne.
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?
Blanc de Blancs. The villages of the Côte des Blancs almost exclusively grow Chardonnay and make Blanc de Blancs champagnes.
A Blanc de Noirs champagne can only be made from Pinot Noir grapes.
True or False?
False
Which French King championed champagne and is said to have drunk it with every meal?
Louis XIV
Which Champagne sub-region has the same soils as those in Chablis – Kimmeridgean Marls?
Côte des Bar
In what type of vessel is most champagne fermented?
Stainless steel tanks
T/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.
True
What was the name for Pinot Gris in Champagne from the 9th to the 16th centuries?
Fromenteau
Most rosé champagne is made by bleeding off some of the juice from fermenting red grapes – a saignée.
True or False?
False
What does “Prise de Mousse” refer to?
The second fermentation
If a champagne producer only vinifies grapes from their own vineyards, which producer code should they show on their label ?
RM: Récoltant-Manipulant
What traumatic, historic event reduced the size of the Champagne region to a fifth of its previous size?
Phylloxera
Before the Champagne Method was perfected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the wines of Champagne were produced using a less sophisticated process. This is still used in other regions – what is it called?
Ancestral Method
