Champagne Flashcards
Location
delimited region in northern france
Climate
cool continental
frosts and winter freeze hazards
wet weather can cause problems in the growing season
Soils
Chalk
Limestone
Important areas with marl and sand
need regular fertilizer, low in nutrients
Classification: aire delimitee
widespread area within which wines can be made and aged
Classification: aire production
particular parcels of land within the aire deliminee which alone can be planted with grapes which qualify for champagne production
Classification: review of the air production
Champ planted to capacity
vision to increase production
land excluded in 1927 and 1935 being re-assessed
started in 2003 by !NOA
historical and technical criteria
- demonstrate that Champ grapes were growing in these plots prior to the delinieation of the appellation and that the site is appropriate (climate, steepness of slope, soil, etc.)
- newly approved vineyard would not be able to produce Champ for several years after approval
Classifications: Crus
Villages, not individual sites, are crus
Can be limited to specific grape variety
- eschelle does crus: villages awarded percentage; 100% grand cru, 90-99% premier cru; system swept away with EU anti-competition legislation
- 17 grand cru villages; 44 premier cru
- some want burgundy type system but overhaul unlikely
Grape varieties
- char
- PN
- PM
Permitted, but 0.3% of plantings: - arbanne
- petit meslier
- Pinot Blanc
- ## Pinot gris
Vineyard: sub-regions
14 sub-regions. Most important:
- Montagne de Reims
- Cote des Blancs
- Vallee de la Marne
- cote de Sezanne
- cote des Bar
Vineyard: max permitted yield
10.4 Tonnes / ha
Vineyard: grape min abv
9%
Vineyard: Pruning systems
4 approved:
- taille chablis
- Cordon de Royat
- Guyot (single and double)
- Vallee de la Marne (only Meunière)
— all retain significant amount of wood, besides Guyot
Hand harvest required
Vineyard: Comité Champagne
- Created in 1845, “brand manager of champagne”
- highly encourages sustainable viticulture
- sets harvest dates and yield
- sets minimum potential alcohol
- sets amount of wine to be kept in reserve each year
- used to fix price of grapes, but now market dependent
Winery: juice yield
- soft pressure extraction
- 25.5 hL/4000kg(Marc)
- best juice = cuvée = 1st 20.5 hL
- remainder = taille = 5 hL
Winery: rose
Masceration or blend or red and white