Champagne Flashcards
Where and when was Dom Pérignon the cellar master?
Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668 until his death in 1715.
In what year did the word mousseaux appear in connotation of effervescence in the wines of Champagne?
1724
Champagne created three terms to refer to the level of effervescence what are they?
Pétillant
Demi-mousseaux
Grand Mousseaux
Louis, son of Charlemagne, was crowned at Reims in what year?
816
What is the oldest producer in Champagne?
Gosset was founded in 1584, but as a still producer.
What is the oldest sparkling producer in Champagne?
Ruinart established in 1729 is the oldest sparkling Champagne producer.
What is Remuage?
riddling—a procedure that allows sediment to be easily removed from a bottle during dégorgement (disgorgement).
Who is Jean-Antoine Chaptal?
the French chemist and statesman for whom the process of chaptalization is named, identified the relationship between sugar and fermentation in a seminal 1801 work.
What did Pharmacist André François measure?
pharmacist André François’ measurement of the precise amount of sugar required to induce it without breaking the bottle, allowed Champagne houses to produce sparkling wines with greater confidence.
Champagne production was 300,00 bottles in 1800. What was it in 1880?
20 million.
Who made the first Brut Champagne?
Pommery in 1874. Pommery “Nature”.
When was the Aube excluded?
And when was it reinstated?
ignerons from the southern Aube region, who had long supplied Champagne houses with base white wine, protested and nearly rioted in 1911 after being excluded from the region. The Aube was reinstated as a full region of the appellation in 1927.
What AOC or AOP needs to be on Champagne bottles?
None.
What is the split of percentages of the primary grapes in Champagne?
Pinot Noir is 38%, Chardonnay 31%, and Oinot Meunier 31%.
What type of subsoil is found predominantly in Champagne’s slopes?
Porous, belemnite chalk. Belemnite chalk, derived from the fossilized remains of millions of extinct cephalopods, has a high limestone content, which allows vine roots to dig deeply and is linked to increased acidity.
What soil type characterizes the valleys Vineyards of Champagne?
A second layer of micraster chalk, named for an extinct sea urchin, characterizes the valley vineyards.
How does the Aube’s soil differ from the rest of Champagne?
A thin layer of clay and sand covers much of the chalk in Champagne; in the Aube to the south clay is the dominant soil type.
What are the additional grapes of Champagne?
In select areas, Pinot Blanc Vrai (“true” Pinot Blanc, a white form of Pinot Noir), Arbane, Pinot Gris, and Petit Meslier are authorized for Champagne AOP production, but they are rare, totaling less than 0.3% of plantings.
Name the four pruning methods allowed in Champagne.
Cordon de Royat
Chablis
Vallée de la Marne
and Guyot (double and simple).
What is the average vine age in Champagne?
Average vine age hovers around twenty years, as the lowered productivity of old vines is undesirable to most houses in Champagne.
Name the five districts of Champagne.
Montagne de Reims
Vallée de Marne
Côte des Blancs
Côte de Sézanne
Côte des Bars (in the Aube départment)
In what Champagne districts is Pinot Noir the dominant grape?
Montagne de Reims and the Aube (Côte des bar)
Where is Chardonnay dominant in Champagne?
Côte des blancs and Côte de Sézanne.
Pinot Meunier is dominant where in Champagne?
Vallée de la Marne