Champagne Flashcards
Who produces Dom Perignon?
Moet et Chandon
When is Transvasage used?
For bottling Champagne in bottles under 375ml and over 3L.
Transfer method
What is a muselet?
Wire Cage
What does RM stand for?
Recoltant Manipulant-
A grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate-grown fruit. 95% of the grapes must originate in the producer’s own vineyards.
List the Champagne bottle sizes and their corresponding names.
Quarter bottle (Piccolo) - 187ml
Half bottle (Demi) - 375ml
Bottle - 750ml
Magnum - 1.5L (2 bottles)
Jerobaum - 3L (4 bottles)
Rehobaum - 4.5L (discontinued 1989)
Methuselah - 6L (8 bottles)
Salamanzar - 9L (12 bottles)
Balthazar - 12L (16 bottles)
Nebuchadnezzar - 15L (20 bottles)
Solomon - 18L (24 bottles)
liqueur de tirage?
a mixture of still wine, yeasts, sugar, and fining agents that will serve to ignite the second fermentation
Autolysis?
the breakdown of dead yeast cells, forms sediment, or lees, in the bottle as second fermentation occurs
Which of the following producers does not release a Special Club bottling?
Charles Heidsieck
Paul Bara
Gaston Chiquet
Marc Hébrart
Pierre Gimmonet
Charles Heidsieck
What is a bouvreux?
A second crop, generally left on the vine at harvest
What is an autoclave?
Pressurized tank used in the production of Sparkling wine in the Charmat method.
Prior to remuage, Champagne bottles are kept in a horizontal, or sur_____________ position.
latte
Sur pointe?
Bottle of Champagne facing upside down
What does NM stand for?
Negociant Manipulant-
A house that purchases grapes and or base wines from growers and other smaller houses. Some NM houses own a significant portion of their own vineyards; others own none at all. Large Champagne houses with the most international presence are invariably in this category: Moët et Chandon, Louis Roederer, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Billecart-Salmon, Lanson, Taittinger, Pol Roger, Perrier-Jouët, Mumm, and Laurent-Perrier. Quality varies widely, although prices are uniformly high. Many houses often fall under the same corporate parentage; for example, Moët et Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, and Mercier fall under the umbrella of the luxury conglomerate LVMH.
Which sparkling wine method involves a single fermentation that begins in tank but concludes in the bottle?
Method Ancestrale
Who produces Cuvee Louise?
Pommery
Brut 60% Chardonnay 40% Pinot Noir
How long must a NV wine age on the lees in bottle before degorgement?
12 months minimum
Belemnite and _____________, named for fossilized sea urchins, are the two main types of chalk soils in Champagne.
micraster
What are the 2 AOPs within Champagne that produce still wine?
Coteaux Champenois
Rose de Riceys- 100% Pinot Noir made in a rose style coming from the Riceys village within Aube
Who makes Nec Plus Ultra?
Bruno Paillard
(Chardonnay and Pinot Noir 1990)
For which bottle size is the Transvasage Method permitted in Champagne?
187ml
What does RC stand for?
Recoltant Cooperateur-
A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.
In the past, Champagne producers performed a process called ___________ during lees aging, in which the bottles would be briskly shaken to prevent sediment from sticking to the glass.
Pointage or Poignetage
Who makes Blanc de Millenaires?
Charles Heidsieck- Reims
100% Chardonnay 1983
What is a matriculation number?
a code assigned to each producer by the CIVC
What is the dosage?
An addition of sugar and wine that determines the wine’s final sweetness
What percent of a year’s total harvest may be sold as vintage Champagne.
80%
Name 3 AOPs produce sparkling wine in the Methode Ancestrale (rurale)?
Bugey- Cerdon
Clairette de Die Methode Ancestrale
Gaillac Mousseux Gaillacoise
Debourbage?
Settling of the must
What grape accounts for the largest acreage in Champagne?
Pinot Noir
What is the most southerly region in Champagne?
The Aube
By what method are Bugey Cerdon AOP wines produced?
Méthode Ancestrale
How long does nonvintage style Champagne have to stay in bottle before release?
15 months including the lees aging.
What is vin de cuvée?
The first 2,050 liters to be extracted from 4,000 kg of grapes
Which training method is not permitted in Champagne?
Gobelet
What are the Grand Crus of the Cote des Blancs?
-6-
Chouilly (added in 1985)
Oiry (added in 1985)
Cramant
Avize
Oger (added in 1985)
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger (added in 1985)
What are the Grand Crus of Montagne de Reims?
-9-
Sillery
Puisieulx
Beaumont-sur-Vesle
Verzenay
Mailly
Verzy (added in 1985)
Louvois
Bouzy
Ambonnay
What are the Grand Crus of the Valley du Marnes?
-2-
Ay
Tours sur Marne
Who are the CIVC?
Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne
a powerful force in the complex mediation between the large Champagne houses and the numerous smaller growers from whom they source grapes.
Explain the Continuous method for sparkling wine production.
Developed in the USSR, this method is similar to the tank method, but the base wine is pumped through a series of interconnected (continuous) tanks while undergoing the second fermentation. Liqueur de tirage is constantly added to the wine, and lees accumulate in the first several tanks, offering a higher degree of autolyzed flavors than the standard tank method. The majority of German Sekt is produced by either the tank method or the continuous method.
Define Methode Ancestrale (rurale)?
A single fermentation begins in tank, but the wine is transferred to bottles before the process is complete—liqueur de tirage is unnecessary.
List the prestige cuvee for the following Champagne houses:
Moet et Chandon
Taittinger
Laurent Perrier
Louis Roederer
Perrier Jouet
Paul Roger
Ruinart
Veuve Cliquot-Ponsardin
Moet et Chandon- Epernay
Dom Perignon- Chard & Pinot Noir 1921
Taittinger- Reims
Comtes de Champagne BdB & Rose- 70% Pinot 30% Chardonnay 1952
Laurent Perrier- Tours-sur-Marne
Grand Siecle- typically NV 50/50 Chardonnay & Pinot Noir 1960
Louis Roederer- Reims
Cristal Brut & Brut Rose (Brut 55% Pinot 45% Chard) Produced 1876, not commerical until 1945 for Brut and 1974 for Rose
Perrier Jouet- Epernay
Belle Epoque (Fleur de Champagne)- Brut( 50% Chardonnay 45% Pinot Noir, 5% Pinot Meunier), Brut Rose, Blanc de Blanc styles made 1964
2002 was last vintage for Fleur de Champagne label
Paul Roger- Epernay
Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill- Pinot Noir and Chardonnay 1975
Ruinart- Reims
Dom Riunart- Blanc de Blanc (1959) and Rose (85% Chardonnay 15% Pinot Noir- 1966)
Veuve Cliquot-Ponsardin-
La Grand Dame
What has largely been replaced by the mechanized gyropalettes for use in the process of remuage?
Pupitres
Within the Echelle de Crus ranking how many grand cru and premier cru villages are there?
17 Grand Cru
42 Premier Cr
_______________ is the release of older vintages of base wine for use in assemblage.
Deblocage
What is the current legal residual sugar range for Extra Dry Champagne?
12-17 g/l
Where is the village of Ambonnay?
Montagne de Reims
What is dégorgement à la volée?
The release of sediment by removing the cap without freezing it. No longer used as you would also lose good juice in the process.
What is the modern method of degorgement?
a la glace- involves dipping the neck of the bottle in a freezing brine solution
What is dégorgement?
Expelling the sediment from the bottle after remuage
Who produces Rare?
Piper Heidsieck
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir 1976
What does “RM” indicate on a Champagne bottle?
The wine was produced by a grower-producer
Who makes Cuvee R Lalou?
G.H. Mumm- Reims
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Started in 1966 disc. 1985 revived 1998
Which villages were elevated to grand cru status in 1985?
-5-
Verzy
Chouilly
Oiry
Oger
Les Mesnil sur Oger
What is an ND?
Negociant Distributeur-
A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make
How are the vineyards of Montagne de Reims split as far as son exposure is concerned?
50/50
North and South facing slopes
When was the CIVC formally established?
1941
Name 4 grapes that are allowed in Champagne production but are not Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Pinor Meunier.
Pinot Gris
Arbane
Petit Meslier
Pinot Blanc Vrai
What does MA stand for?
Marque d’Acheteur-
“buyer’s own brand”, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.
What does SR stand for?
Societe de Recoltants-
A firm, not a co-operative, set up by a union of often related growers, who share resources to make their wines and collectively market several brands.
Champagne vineyards are best characterized by what type of soil?
Chalk
What are the sweetness levels for Champagne?
Extra Brut 0-6 g/l
Brut 0-12 g/l
Extra Dry 12-17 g/l
Sec 17-32 g/l
Demi-Sec 32-50 g/l
Doux 50+ g/l
From 2010 moving forward, producers are allowed a margin of +/- 3 grams per liter
What does CM stand for?
Cooperative Manipulant-
A growers’ co-operative that produces the wine under a single brand.
Rosé de Riceys AOP wines are produced in which region?
Cotes des Bars
Define the following terms:
Remuage
Pupitre
Remuer
Gyropalette
Remuage- Riddling
Pupitre- A Frame wood stand that holds 60 bottles of Champagne
Remuer- Riddler
Gyropalette- Spanish invention that can hold and riddle up to 504 bottles. Has replaced riddling in all major Champagne houses
What is dosage, or liqueur d’expédition?
a liquid mixture of sugar syrup and wine
Give the tete de cuvee of Ayala, and it’s approximate blend.
Perle d’Ayala is a blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir.
Give a tete de cuvee of Billecart Salmon, its blend, and its first vintage.
Grand Cuvee started in 1982, and is a 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay blend.
What is the rose tete de cuvee of Billecart Salmon?
Cuvee Elisabeth Salmon, first vintage was 1988.
List three tete de cuvees of Bollinger.
Grand Annee, RD, and Vieilles Vignes Francaises.
What is the encepagemnet of Vieilles Vignes Francaises?
100% Pinot Noir
What was the first vintage for Vieilles Vignes Francaises?
1969
What is the tete de cuvee of Boizel?
Joyau de France, a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend begun in 1961.
Which house has the tete de cuvee Joyau de France?
Boizel of Epernay.
What is the tete du cuvee of Canard Duchene?
Charles VII, a NV in brut, blanc de blancs, brut rose, and blanc de noirs.
Charles VII is a tete de cuvee of which house?
Canard Duchene of Ludes.
What is the tete de cuvee of Comtes Audoin de Dampierre?
Prestige, it is 100% Chardonnay.
Who produces the tete de cuvee Prestige, and what is the blend?
It is by Comtes Audoin de Dampierre of Chenay, and it is 100% Chardonnay
What is the tete de cuvee of de Castellane?
Cuvee Commodore- DC’d
What is the tete de cuvee of de Meric?
Catherine de Medicis
Who produces the tete de cuvee Catherine de Medicis?
de Meric of Ay.
What is the original tete de cuvee of de Venoge?
Grand Vin de Princes, which was discontinued in 1994, and revived for the 2000 vintage.
What cuvee replaced Grand Vin des Princes?
Louis XV, produced in Brut and Extra Brut Rose.
Who produces Grand Vin des Princes?
de Venoge of Epernay.
Who produces Louis XV?
de Venoge of Epernay.
What is the tete de cuvee of Delamotte?
Nicolas Louis Delamotte (DC’d)- located in Mesnil-sur-Oger