Champagne French Terms Flashcards
What does En Foule mean and what is the connection to Champagne
- Means “ In a Crowd”, this is the way the vineyards were planted during the Middle Ages
- this style means that the vines were propagated by layering
- System was used until World War I
What is Disgorgement a la Volée
Means “Flying Disgorgement”
- Is the oldest style of disgorgement. It is done by hand but you can lose a significant amount of wine if not done correctly
What is Disgorgement a la Glace
The most secure method. Is done when you simply freeze the neck of the bottle to remove the yeast
What is Vins de la Rivére and the villages are associated with it
- The River
- Wines from Vallee de la Marne
- Épernay and Aÿ
What is Vins de la Montagne and the villages are associated with it
- The Mountain
- Wines from Montagne de Reims
- Bouzy and Verzenay
What Liqueur de Tirage
A mixture of yeast, sugar, and wine that helps jump start the second fermentation. This mixture is added to the Vin Clair
What is Foires de Champagne
- Trade Fair
- Took place in the villages of Troyes, Bar-Sur- Aube, Lagny, and Provins
- Fair were held twice a year and could last as long as 49 days
What is Tenure a Vinage
- Means Typical Contact
- in the Middle Ages a free man would approach a landowner and offer to revive a neglected vineyard or clear property to plant a new one
- the contract was good for 5 years ( the amount of time it takes for a vineyard to become established)
- After that the land would be divided between the freeman and the landowner
- The freeman usually would not get the portion deserved and would usually have to pay rent as a percentage of the harvest
What does Vin Gris mean
Gray Wine
- neither red nor white but rather onion skin or partridge eye
What is Vin de Goutte / Vin de l’abaissement
- Free-run juice, was the first liquid to run from press.
- It was the most prized
What does Tailles Mean
Cuts
What is Vin de Pressoir
- Means Press Wine
- The last juice the exit the press
- The juice is deeply pigmented and given to the servants
What is a Broquelet
Wooden plug wrapped in oil soaked hemp, used as a bottle seal
What was Tocane and where was it popular
- The sparkling wine made into Champagne Village of Aÿ in the 1600’s
- It was very popular
What is Verre Anglais and what was so unique about it
- Means English Glass
- It could withstand the force building up inside the champagne bottle during the second fermentation
What does Mousseux mean
Foaming or Sparkling
What does Moussé mean
Foam
What does Vin Mousseux mean
Sparkling Wine
What does La Casse mean
Breakage
What does Ullage mean
The unfilled space in a bottle or container
What does Vins Ordininaires de Bonne Qualite mean
Everyday Wines of Good Quality
What does Vins de Boisson mean
Drinking Wine
What does Vin de Pays mean
Local Wine
What does Cru mean
Named Parcel
What is Livre des Cuvees
Book of Blends
What does lattes mean
Often called “sur lattes” which means to store on your side. Is when the Champagnes bottle are stacked on the top each other vertically and each layer is depressed by thin strips of wood
What is Bas-Vin
- Wasted Wine
- The wine that is left in the bottle after decanting
- This wine is gritty and cloudy
- In the 19th Century some champagne houses would decant the wines into new bottles, leaving sediment behind
- The wine that was left over was given to the workers
What does Changement de Tas mean
- Process was used before Remuage was invented
- Method of involving moving the stacks of wine bottles
- As each bottle was lifted out of a stack and deposited into another stack, the bottle was shaken to loosen the deposit
- Method was tedious and wasn’t very successful
What is a Remueurs
- A Riddler
- the workers whose job is to shift the bottle from a horizontal to vertical position
What is Une Bouteille Bleue
- Blue Bottle
- It is when during disgorgement the sediment slid back into the bottle
What does “Remuage” mean
Riddling
What does Chef de Cave mean
Cellar Master
What does Frappé mean
Iced or Chilled
What is replissage mean
- The topping off of their bottles after disgorgement with more of the same champagne
What does Surbouchage
Overtop the Cork
- As of 1856, corks were covered with Tin foil vs wax
What does ficelage mean
Cork with a string seal
What does Muselet mean
Cork with a Cage
What does Échelle des Crus mean
Means “Scaled of named Places”
What does Paraffinage mean
Corks that were being treated with paraffin wax
What does Satinage
Thin wax coating
- same process using paraffin wax
What does Cuvée Spéciales mean
Special Blends
What does Girasol mean
A mechanized riddling machine
What does Méthode Champenoise mean
Champagne Method
What does Méthode Traditionnelle
Traditional Method
What does Plant Dorés mean
Bronzed Plants / Vine
What does Plants Gris mean
Gray Plants / Vines
What does Provinage mean
Layering
What does Vignes en foule
Vines in a Crowd
What does Vignes en Lignes
Orderly Row
What does Lutte Raisonnée mean
When growers are to spray for disease when disease threatens, not on a prescribed schedule
What does Chaufferettes mean
Small Portable Heaters
What does Gadoues mean
Trash
What is a Chaufferettes
Small Portable Heater
Depointage
The stacking of bottles neck down after riddling, in readiness for disgorgement, with the neck of one bottle resting in the hollow base of the bottle below
De Masse
Neck down
- During depointage, the bottles are wedged tight against the floor, sandwiched between two walls and slightly tilted towards the back wall.
- The bottles in the bottom row are positioned neck down (De Masse) towards the floor, with each successive row resting in the hollow bases of the bottles below, about 5 or 6 rows altogether.
Entreillage
Horizontal Stacking
- Entreillage is more of a stable stacking method than De Masse
What does Poignettage mean
Vigorously shaking the bottle to mix the liqueur d’expedition with the Champagne before it is placed on the market
Champagne Pouilleuse
Dry Champagne
Champage Humide
Wet Champagne
