Champagne and Sparkling Wine Flashcards
Wines that are produced outside of Champagne AOP, but in the same manner may use what terminology on the label to indicate the method of production used?
méthode traditionnelle (traditional method)
méthode classique
classical method
What is the name of the abbey where Dom Pérignon presided as cellar master? When was this?
Abbey of Hautvillers
1668-1715
In the 17th century, French glass was considered inferior for Champagne. Why was this? What was the solution?
French glass was weak because it was wood-fired.
The solution was to use English coal-fired glass which was stronger.
When did “mousseux” first appear in connotation with the wines of Champagne? What other terms were used?
1724
Pétillant
Demi-mousseux (crémant)
Grand mousseux
What is the name of the oldest Champagne house in operation which was originally founded for still wine? Oldest Champagne house for sparkling? Years?
Gosset (1584)
Ruinart (1729)
Why did the Champenoise initially produce white wine from red grapes?
It was an effort to improve wine quality in Champagne and the wine’s ability to compete with the wines of Burgundy.
What is rémuage? Who discovered the technique and at what Champagne house was this? When?
Riddling.
Procedure that allows sediment to be easily removed from a bottle during disgorgement.
Discovered by Antoine Müller, the cellar master of Veuve Clicquot.
Who identified the relationship between sugar and fermentation? When was this?
French chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal (1801)
Who is André François and what contribution did he provide to the understanding and advancement of Champagne production?
French pharmacist who determined the precise measurement of amount of sugar required to induce secondary fermentation in the bottle w/out breaking the bottle.
Why were grower producers (RM) so rare in the early days?
The cost of production and marketing were too steep for small individual growers.
What is the difference between vin de cuvée and vin de taille?
Vin de cuvée - the brighter, clearer free-run juice drawn off at the beginning of pressing
Vin de taille - the juice extracted from the end of pressing which is darker and more full of impurities
Among other things, Champagne was linked to what in the age of poster advertising?
Women, leisure, sport, history, and all things celebratory.
When did the French government originally delimit the Champagne region? When was the last and final revision of this?
1908 originally
Revised and largely finalized in 1927 (revised again in 2009)
When did Champagne officially gain AOC status?
1936
What was the Comission de Châlons? When was it founded?
Consortium of growers and merchants formed to develop quality standards and regulate pricing.
Founded in 1935
What is unique regarding Champagne AOP and labeling in relation to all other AOPs in France?
It’s the only AOP that does not need to include Appellation Contrôlée on the label.
In what decade did phylloxera strike the vineyards of Champagne?
1890’s
How did phylloxera eventually lead to a riot and French military intervention to quell it in 1911?
Phylloxera caused unscrupulous producers to import sparkling wine and pass it off as true champagne. Struggling growers who sold grapes to these producers weren’t happy about this and when producers began colluding to drive down grape prices in the already struggling Champagne viticole the growers took action by ransacking production houses of suspected colluders and rioting in the streets.
Who was Otto Klaebisch?
Nazi-appointed agent nicknamed the “Weinführer” who took up residence at Veuve Clicquot during WWII and who demanded huge sums of Champagne for Germany
What is the CIVC, when was it created, by who, and for what reason?
Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne
Created in 1941 by Robert-Jean de Vögué of Möet et Chandon from the existing framework of the Comission de Châlons as a new, broader consortium of growers, producers, and shippers to represent the Champagne industry and protect its interest in the face of Nazi occupation.
How does the Contrôle des Structures limit vineyard ownership by merchant houses and thus insuring a healthy coexistence of both grower and merchant in Champagne?
Contrôle des Structures prohibits any firm from farming more than fifteen owned or rented hectares. The big merchant firms must source from growers for the rest of the grapes used for production.
What is a tête de cuvée or prestige cuvée
Considered the top wine of a Champagne house. Usually carries a vintage date.
What led major Champagne houses to establish sparkling wine making operations in other parts of the world?
Limits of finite production in Champagne could not satisfy the world’s appetite for the wines. Rather than drastically increase the prices of the wines it made more sense to produce a higher volume. The best way to do this without sacrificing quality was to seek out other areas of production.
When was the last revision of the boundaries of Champagne viticole? How many villages can now produce grapes for Champagne production?
2009
357 villages
1 in how many bottles of sparkling wine produced worldwide is Champagne?
1 in 12
Who is responsible for producing the first successful brut Champagne? When was this and what was it called?
Pommery
1874
It was called “Nature”
