Champagne Flashcards

1
Q

List three advancements that led to the development of sparkling wine

A

1) stronger glass bottles
2) uniform bottle neck opening
3) mainstream use of cork to create an airtight seal

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2
Q

Identify the home of the Counts of Champagne, the past capital of the Champagne region

A

Troyes

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3
Q

Name the 17th century wooden instrument used to eliminate CO2 from sparkling wine

A

Mosser

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4
Q

Know the terms for French sparkling wines produced outside of Champagne

A

Cremant, Petillant, Mousseux

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5
Q

Know the point difference between the terms Méthode Champenoise and Méthode Traditionnelle

A

Methode Champenoise can only be used for wines made in Champagne

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6
Q

Describe Champagne’s climate and the factors that influence it

A

Most northerly wine region in France (48 - 49.5 parallel) - cool climate

Continental climate with maritime influences

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7
Q

List the climate-related vine threats in Champagne and the factors that mitigate them

A

Low temps, frost, hail, fog, rain, humidity (disease pressure)

Mesoclimates help to mitigate - provide vine with shelter, warmth, adequate air circulation, hills create suntraps, and rivers/canals help moderate temps and mitigate frost damage

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8
Q

Define “chalk”; explain the difference between Micraster and Belemnite chalk

A

Chalk is a porous limestone, a sedimentary rock composed of calcium carbonate, chalk subsoils store water

Micraster chalk composed of fossilized sea urchins, Belemnite chalk composed of squid

No quality difference between the two - Belemnite preferred because of where it ended up at the upper-mid level of the slope vs micraster ended up at bottom of slope when the earth fractured 45 mya - mid slope is preferred due to sun exposure, air circulation, and water drainage

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9
Q

Reims soil type

A

chalk

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10
Q

Epernay soil type

A

chalk

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11
Q

Ay soil type

A

chalk

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12
Q

Ambonnay soil type

A

chalk

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13
Q

Verzenay soil type

A

chalk

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14
Q

Cote de Blancs soil type

A

chalk

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15
Q

Montgeux soil type

A

chalk

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16
Q

Vitry-le-Francois soil type

A

chalk

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17
Q

Montagne de Reims soil type

A

limestone rich marl

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18
Q

Cotes de Bar soil type

A

limestone rich marl (kimmeridgean marl)

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19
Q

Vallee de la Marne soil type

A

sand and clay

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20
Q

Val de Reims soil type

A

sand and clay

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21
Q

Coteaux Sud de Epernay soil type

A

sand and clay

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22
Q

Know the three primary grapes used in Champagne and the attributes they contribute to the finished wine

A

Pinot Noir: moderate alcohol and lowest amount of acid
Meunier: least alcohol and moderate acid
Chardonnay: high alcohol and acid

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23
Q

What grape is grown in this subregion: Montagne & Val de Reims

A

Pinot Noir

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24
Q

What grape is grown in this subregion: Valle de la Marne

A

Pinot Noir & Meunier

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25
Q

What grape is grown in this subregion: Cotes de Blanc

A

Chardonnay

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26
Q

What grape is grown in this subregion: Cotes de Bar

A

Pinot Noir

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27
Q

Why is Pinot Meunier now just Meunier?

A

It is a chimeric mutation (part pinot and part something else) - has 2 different types of DNA - pinot phenotype for internal cells and different phenotype for outer layer and skins - many have opted to just call it “meunier”

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28
Q

What are the sought-after attributes driving clonal selection in Champagne

A

Want high acid berries that are resistant to gray rot and botrytis.

Large pinot noir berries for more juice.

Meunier clones with late bud break to avoid spring frosts

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29
Q

Explain why so few champagnes are labeled “organic”

A

Marginal climate. Majority of Champagne is made from purchased grapes from different vineyards, villages, and subregions, hard to ensure all organic.

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30
Q

List the ways in which global warming is impacting the winemaking process in Champagne

A

All grapes are achieving physiologic ripeness more consistently - chaptalization less routine. Alcohol levels have risen and acid has dropped, not as many using MLF to retain acid. Dosage level has dropped with lower acid levels.

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31
Q

Rose des Riceys AOC wine style & grapes

A

rose of pinot noir

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32
Q

Coteaux Champenois AOC wine style & grapes

A

Wine style: dry white, rose, red (still wines only) - usually NV white wine
Champagne AOC

Grapes: Chardonnay, Arbane, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Meunier

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33
Q

Champagne AOC wine style & grapes

A

Wine style: sparkling white or rose

Grapes: Chardonnay, Arbane, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Meunier

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34
Q

Explain why champagne is typically a blended product

A

To achieve and maintain consistency within the cuvee each year - minimizes crop loss if incorporate grapes from different growing areas

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35
Q

Summarize the Echelle des Crus and define the three rankings

A

Scale of Growths

Created to recognize different terroirs within the Champagne AOC - ranks villages

Grand Cru 100% rating (17 villages)
Premier Cru 90-99% rating (42 villages)
Village must have at least 80% to use their grapes in Champagne

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36
Q

Describe Vintage vs Non-Vintage

A

Vintage: Only made in the best vintages, vintage year appears on label, crafted only from fruit grown during the vintage (exception: liquor de dosage), must spend 12 months on the lees and 3 years in cellar

Non-Vintage: house style, must spend 12 months on lees and 3 months in cellar before release

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37
Q

What is a Prestige Cuvée

A

Champagne house’s highest quality bottlings - special parcels, old vines, oak treatment, cellar aging, or extended lees contact likely

38
Q

What is Late-Disgorged

A

Underwent prolonged aging on the lees with crown cap on, taste like an older champagne but still has effervescence

39
Q

What is a Mono-parcelle

A

single-vineyard Champagne

40
Q

What is a Mono-Cru

A

single village Champagne

41
Q

What is Spécial Club?

A

Peer-reviewed, prestige cuvees from members of the Club Tresors de Champagne

Must be made entirely on member’s own premise, with their own grapes and only in outstanding vintages, must undergo 2 blind tastings to earn label and to be sold in the club’s signature bottle

42
Q

What is Solera/Perpetual Reserve Champagne?

A

Champagne made from a single stainless steel tank or oak foudre that is kept perpetually. A portion may be put into bottle to undergo prise de mousse, while the rest is kept to assimilate new wine when added, forming a perpetual reserve

43
Q

Define “NM” and “RM” (as seen on a champagne label)

A

NM: producer incorporates grapes bought from others - champagne houses
RM: producer vinifying only their estate-grown grapes - grower

44
Q

List the primary point of difference between the Champagne method and the rural/ancestral method

A

Champagne method with a controlled 2nd fermentation
Ancestral method with one fermentation in bottle interrupted during the winter - not controlled

45
Q

Identify the 3 individuals responsible for the development of the Champagne method

A

Dom Perignon - created blend by mixing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier at the press
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (Veuve Cliquot) - created riddling
Madame Pommery - created drier versions of Champagne after fall of Russian Tsar

46
Q

What is a mosser?

A

Wooden whisk used to remove Co2 from wine in the 1600s

47
Q

What is ‘sur lattes’?

A

“On the lattes” - the method of resting sparkling wine bottles stacked on their sides with thin wood stripes (lattes) between them

48
Q

What is tirage?

A

The act of bottling a sparkling wine

49
Q

What is prise de mousse?

A

Seizing of the foam - 2nd alcoholic fermentation which converts the dry base wine into a sparkline wine

50
Q

What is liqueur de tirage

A

sugar/yeast solution added to the base wine to initiate a 2nd fermentation

51
Q

What is Remuage

A

Riddling - the process of collecting dead yeast cells into the neck of the champagne bottle in preparation for disgorging

52
Q

What is Pupitre

A

A shaped rack into which champagne bottles are placed to perform the act of riddling

53
Q

What is liqueur de dosage/liqueur d’expédition

A

A mixture of sugar and still reserve wine, after disgorging a sparkling wine, determines the wine’s final sweetness level

54
Q

What is juponé

A

Young, mushroom shaped sparkling wine cork

55
Q

What is Chevillé

A

Old, peg shaped sparkling wine cork

56
Q

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

A

True

57
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?

Blanc de Noirs

Cuvée de Prestige

Blanc de Blancs

Spécial Club

A

Blanc de Blancs

58
Q

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

A

False - can also be made from Meunier

59
Q

Which statement best describes Champagne’s climate?

Continental

Maritime

Mediterranean

Continental with maritime influence

A

Continental with maritime influence

60
Q

What is the term for the purest part of the pressed juice & also a blend?

A

Cuvee

61
Q

What term is used to describe Removal of the yeast sediment from the bottle.

A

Dégorgement

62
Q

What is tirage?

A

The act of bottling a sparkling wine

63
Q

What is Vin Claire?

A

The still wines, after the first fermentation but before bottling – the base wines.

64
Q

What is Assemblage?

A

Blending the base wines.

65
Q

What is the The solution of wine and sugar used to sweeten the champagnes.

A

Dosage

66
Q

What is remuage?

A

Turning, twisting, shaking and tilting bottles to move the sediment to the neck.

67
Q

Grapes for champagne can be harvested by hand or by machine.

True or False?

A

False

68
Q

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

Louis XIV

Louis XVIII

Charlemagne

Louis Philippe

A

Louis XIV

69
Q

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

Côte des Blancs

Côte de Sezanne

Côte des Bar

Monts de Berru

A

Côte des Bar

70
Q

What is the aging minimum for Non-Vintage Champagne?

A

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

71
Q

What is the aging minimum for Vintage Champagne?

A

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

72
Q

What are the 6 steps to making Champagne in order?

A

Assemblage
Tirage
Elevage
Remuage
Disgorgement
Dosage

73
Q

How many Grand Cru Villages are there in Champagne?

A

17 Grand Cru Villages

74
Q

What is the major grape variety in Vitryat?

A

Chardonnay

75
Q

What is the major grape variety in Cote de Sezane?

A

Chardonnay

76
Q

What is the major grape variety in Cote de Blancs?

A

Chardonnay

77
Q

What is the major grape variety in Grand Montagne de Reims?

A

Pinot Noir

78
Q

What is the major grape variety in Montgeux?

A

Chardonnay

79
Q

What is the major grape variety in the Cotes de Bar?

A

Pinot Noir

80
Q

What is the major grape variety in the Valle de la Marne?

A

Meunier

81
Q

What is the major grape variety in the Grande Valle de la Marne?

A

Pinot Noir

82
Q

In what type of vessel is most champagne fermented?

Oak barrels

Stainless steel tanks

Concrete tanks

Amphorae

A

Stainless steel tanks

83
Q

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 or False?

A

True

84
Q

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

Fromenteau

Arbane

Petit Meslier

Gouais Blanc

A

Fromenteau

85
Q

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

True or False?

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.

86
Q

What does “Prise de Mousse” refer to?


Adding the dosage

Bottling of cuvée

Turning the bottles during remuage

The second fermentation

A

The second fermentation

87
Q

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

NM: Négociant-Manipulant

RM: Récoltant-Manipulant

CM: Cooperative-Manipulant

SR: Société de Récoltants

A

RM: Récoltant-Manipulant

88
Q

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

The First World War

The Second World War

The Black Death

Phylloxera

A

Phylloxera

89
Q

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?

Traditional Method

Ancestral Method

Tank Method

Transfer Method

A

Ancestral Method

90
Q

List the 7 part sweetness scale for Champange from dry to sweet

A

Brut Nature
Extra Brut
Brut
Extra Sec
Sec
Demi-Sec
Doux