Champagne Flashcards
List three advancements that led to the development of sparkling wine
1) stronger glass bottles
2) uniform bottle neck opening
3) mainstream use of cork to create an airtight seal
Identify the home of the Counts of Champagne, the past capital of the Champagne region
Troyes
Name the 17th century wooden instrument used to eliminate CO2 from sparkling wine
Mosser
Know the terms for French sparkling wines produced outside of Champagne
Cremant, Petillant, Mousseux
Know the point difference between the terms Méthode Champenoise and Méthode Traditionnelle
Methode Champenoise can only be used for wines made in Champagne
Describe Champagne’s climate and the factors that influence it
Most northerly wine region in France (48 - 49.5 parallel) - cool climate
Continental climate with maritime influences
List the climate-related vine threats in Champagne and the factors that mitigate them
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
Define “chalk”; explain the difference between Micraster and Belemnite chalk
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
Reims soil type
chalk
Epernay soil type
chalk
Ay soil type
chalk
Ambonnay soil type
chalk
Verzenay soil type
chalk
Cote de Blancs soil type
chalk
Montgeux soil type
chalk
Vitry-le-Francois soil type
chalk
Montagne de Reims soil type
limestone rich marl
Cotes de Bar soil type
limestone rich marl (kimmeridgean marl)
Vallee de la Marne soil type
sand and clay
Val de Reims soil type
sand and clay
Coteaux Sud de Epernay soil type
sand and clay
Know the three primary grapes used in Champagne and the attributes they contribute to the finished wine
Pinot Noir: moderate alcohol and lowest amount of acid
Meunier: least alcohol and moderate acid
Chardonnay: high alcohol and acid
What grape is grown in this subregion: Montagne & Val de Reims
Pinot Noir
What grape is grown in this subregion: Valle de la Marne
Pinot Noir & Meunier
What grape is grown in this subregion: Cotes de Blanc
Chardonnay
What grape is grown in this subregion: Cotes de Bar
Pinot Noir
Why is Pinot Meunier now just Meunier?
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”
What are the sought-after attributes driving clonal selection in Champagne
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
Explain why so few champagnes are labeled “organic”
Marginal climate. Majority of Champagne is made from purchased grapes from different vineyards, villages, and subregions, hard to ensure all organic.
List the ways in which global warming is impacting the winemaking process in Champagne
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.
Rose des Riceys AOC wine style & grapes
rose of pinot noir
Coteaux Champenois AOC wine style & grapes
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
Champagne AOC wine style & grapes
Wine style: sparkling white or rose
Grapes: Chardonnay, Arbane, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Meunier
Explain why champagne is typically a blended product
To achieve and maintain consistency within the cuvee each year - minimizes crop loss if incorporate grapes from different growing areas
Summarize the Echelle des Crus and define the three rankings
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
Describe Vintage vs Non-Vintage
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
What is a Prestige Cuvée
Champagne house’s highest quality bottlings - special parcels, old vines, oak treatment, cellar aging, or extended lees contact likely
What is Late-Disgorged
Underwent prolonged aging on the lees with crown cap on, taste like an older champagne but still has effervescence
What is a Mono-parcelle
single-vineyard Champagne
What is a Mono-Cru
single village Champagne
What is Spécial Club?
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
What is Solera/Perpetual Reserve Champagne?
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
Define “NM” and “RM” (as seen on a champagne label)
NM: producer incorporates grapes bought from others - champagne houses
RM: producer vinifying only their estate-grown grapes - grower
List the primary point of difference between the Champagne method and the rural/ancestral method
Champagne method with a controlled 2nd fermentation
Ancestral method with one fermentation in bottle interrupted during the winter - not controlled
Identify the 3 individuals responsible for the development of the Champagne method
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
What is a mosser?
Wooden whisk used to remove Co2 from wine in the 1600s
What is ‘sur lattes’?
“On the lattes” - the method of resting sparkling wine bottles stacked on their sides with thin wood stripes (lattes) between them
What is tirage?
The act of bottling a sparkling wine
What is prise de mousse?
Seizing of the foam - 2nd alcoholic fermentation which converts the dry base wine into a sparkline wine
What is liqueur de tirage
sugar/yeast solution added to the base wine to initiate a 2nd fermentation
What is Remuage
Riddling - the process of collecting dead yeast cells into the neck of the champagne bottle in preparation for disgorging
What is Pupitre
A shaped rack into which champagne bottles are placed to perform the act of riddling
What is liqueur de dosage/liqueur d’expédition
A mixture of sugar and still reserve wine, after disgorging a sparkling wine, determines the wine’s final sweetness level
What is juponé
Young, mushroom shaped sparkling wine cork
What is Chevillé
Old, peg shaped sparkling wine cork
A Blanc de Blancs champagne can only be made from Chardonnay grapes. T/F
True
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
Blanc de Blancs
A Blanc de Noirs champagne can only be made from Pinot Noir grapes. T/F
False - can also be made from Meunier
Which statement best describes Champagne’s climate?
Continental
Maritime
Mediterranean
Continental with maritime influence
Continental with maritime influence
What is the term for the purest part of the pressed juice & also a blend?
Cuvee
What term is used to describe Removal of the yeast sediment from the bottle.
Dégorgement
What is tirage?
The act of bottling a sparkling wine
What is Vin Claire?
The still wines, after the first fermentation but before bottling – the base wines.
What is Assemblage?
Blending the base wines.
What is the The solution of wine and sugar used to sweeten the champagnes.
Dosage
What is remuage?
Turning, twisting, shaking and tilting bottles to move the sediment to the neck.
Grapes for champagne can be harvested by hand or by machine.
True or False?
False
Which French King championed champagne and is said to have drunk it with every meal?
Louis XIV
Louis XVIII
Charlemagne
Louis Philippe
Louis XIV
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
Côte des Bar
What is the aging minimum for Non-Vintage Champagne?
12 months on the lees and 15 months in total, minimum.
What is the aging minimum for Vintage Champagne?
12 months on the lees and 36 months in total, minimum.
What are the 6 steps to making Champagne in order?
Assemblage
Tirage
Elevage
Remuage
Disgorgement
Dosage
How many Grand Cru Villages are there in Champagne?
17 Grand Cru Villages
What is the major grape variety in Vitryat?
Chardonnay
What is the major grape variety in Cote de Sezane?
Chardonnay
What is the major grape variety in Cote de Blancs?
Chardonnay
What is the major grape variety in Grand Montagne de Reims?
Pinot Noir
What is the major grape variety in Montgeux?
Chardonnay
What is the major grape variety in the Cotes de Bar?
Pinot Noir
What is the major grape variety in the Valle de la Marne?
Meunier
What is the major grape variety in the Grande Valle de la Marne?
Pinot Noir
In what type of vessel is most champagne fermented?
Oak barrels
Stainless steel tanks
Concrete tanks
Amphorae
Stainless steel tanks
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?
True
What was the name for Pinot Gris in Champagne from the 9th to the 16th centuries?
Fromenteau
Arbane
Petit Meslier
Gouais Blanc
Fromenteau
Most rosé champagne is made by bleeding off some of the juice from fermenting red grapes – a saignée.
True or False?
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.
What does “Prise de Mousse” refer to?
Adding the dosage
Bottling of cuvée
Turning the bottles during remuage
The second fermentation
The second fermentation
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
RM: Récoltant-Manipulant
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
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?
Traditional Method
Ancestral Method
Tank Method
Transfer Method
Ancestral Method
List the 7 part sweetness scale for Champange from dry to sweet
Brut Nature
Extra Brut
Brut
Extra Sec
Sec
Demi-Sec
Doux
