Champagne Flashcards
Where is Champagne located?
Northern France; 90 miles northeast of Paris.
What is the climate in Champagne?
- Cool continental
- Northern-most limit of vine growing
- No natural protection from Atlantic
- Cloudy, unpredicatble weather
What is the soil in Champagne?
- Limestone
- Chalk
What are the grape varieties in Champagne?
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Noir
- Meunier
What are the primary viticultural considerations in Champagne?
Persistent threats of rain, frost, hail.
What are the primary vinification aspects of Champagne?
Its all about blends! Most champagne is a blend of:
- Grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier)
- Sub-regions, villages and vineyards
- Vintages
What method is used to make wine in Champagne?
Methode champenoise
What is the method used to make wine in Champagne called outside of Champagne?
Methode Classique
Name the seven steps of the Methode Champenoise.
- Making the base still wine
- Assemblage of the “Cuvee” (assembling the blend)
- Secondary Fermentation (creating bubbles)
- Sur Lie Aging
- Riddling (removal of sediment part 1)
- Degorgement (removal of sediment part 2)
- Dosage
What is Riddling?
After aging, the lees must be removed from the bottle in order to have a clear wine. This is either done by hand (Pupitre) or by machine (Gyropalette).
What is Disgorging?
Once the sediment has collected in the neck of the bottle, it needs to be removed. To disgorge the sediment, each bottle’s neck is frozen in an ice bath, so that the yeast can be ejected. This can be done by hand or, as is more often the case, by machine.
What is Dosage?
After dégorgement , a mixture of wine and sugar called the liqueur d’expédition is added to the bottle. The amount of sugar added determines the sweetness level and, therefore, the style of the Champagne.
List the style categories and corresponding sweetness levels for Champage.
List the sub-regions in Champagne.
- Valee de la Marne
- Cote des Blanc
- Montagne de Reims
What are the aging requirements of a non-vintage (NV) Champagne?
Minimum 15 months aging; 12 months on lees.
What are the aging requirements of a vintage Champagne?
Minimum 36 months
List three styles of champagne and the grapes used in each.
- Rose (pink colored Champagne)
- Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay)
- Blanc de Noirs (Pinto Noir and Meunier - only dark grapes)
What is a Clos or Mono Parcel in Champagne?
A noted single parcel in a vineyard under single ownership.
What is a Cuvee Prestige?
Top-end bottling of a particular Champagne house.
What is another name for a Cuvee Prestige?
Tete de Cuvee
What is a negociant in Champagne?
Producers who buy grapes, juice, or finished wine to bottle under their own names.
What is a grower in Champagne?
Producers that own the vineyards they are producing wine from start to finish.
Why are most champagnes non-vintage wines?
- Huge weather extremes mean quality varies season to season.
- Consequently, multiple vintages are often blended to maintain quality and consistency.
What are the top recent vintages in Champagne?
What are the three methods of making sparkling wine?
- Methode Champenoise
- Transfer Method
- Tank Method (Charmat Process/Cuve Close)
List 4 wines that are made using the Methode Champenoise?
- Champagne
- Cremant
- Cava
- Franciacorta
List 3 wines that are made using the Tank Method?
- Prosecco
- Moscato d’Asti
- Lambrusco
Why is the Transfer Method used?
For large and small format bottling
What is a Cremant?
French sparkling wine grown outside of Champagne that still uses the methode champenoise.
List the four Italian Sparkling wines.
- Asti DOCG
- Prosecco
- Lambrusco
- Franciacorta DOCG
What grape varieties are used to produce Franciacorta in Italy?
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Nero
- Pinot Bianco
What is the name of the sparkling wine in Spain?
Cave DO
What method is used to produce Cava DO?
Methode classique
What grape varieties are used to produce Cava DO?
- Xarel-lo
- Paradella
- Macabeo
Who produces the most sparkling wine of any country?
Spain
