Champagne General Flashcards
Who was Dom Pérignon, and what is his contribution to Champagne?
The cellarmaster at the Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668-1715, and a master of assemblage.
From whence do the terms pétillant, crémant (demi-mousseux) and grand mousseux stem?
The unpredictable variance in the level of mousse in early champagnes.
What is the oldest still-operating Champagne house?
Gosset, 1584.
What is the oldest Champagne house established for sparkling wine?
Ruinart, 1729.
Major 18th century Champagne Houses
- Moët et Chandon
- Veuve Cliquot
- Taittinger
- Delamotte
Who developed remuage?
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin in 1816.
Who first identified the relationship between sugar and fermentation, and when? (and what winemaking practice is named for him?)
Jean-Antoine Chaptal in 1801, Chaptlization
Who created the first brut Champagne?
Pommery, in 1874, called “Nature”
When was Champagne first delimited, and what was controversial about the decision?
1908; it originally excluded the Aube
When was the Aube added to the appellation?
1927
When was Champagne made an AOC?
1936
What is unique about Champagne’s labeling?
They are the only AOC/AOP that is not required to include “appellation contrôlée/protégée” on the label.
Who founded the Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), and when?
Robert-Jean de Vogüé (Moët et Chandon) in 1941
NM/ND/MA are prohibited from farming more than how much land (whether owned or rented)?
15 hectares
What wine created the category of “Prestige Cuvée,” and when?
Dom Pérignon (Moët et Chandon), in 1921
When did the INAO expand the boundaries of Champagne?
2009, for the first time since 1927
Champagne is located along what latitudinal parallel?
48th
What is bouvreux?
A second crop in Champagne, which results when rain interrupts flowering. It is left on the vine, but rarely ripens
What is belemnite chalk, and where is it found?
Chalk derived from fossilized cephalopods, with a high limestone content. Found on the hillsides of Champagne
What is micraster chalk, and where is it found?
Chalk derived from fossilized sea urchins, found in Champagne’s valley floors
What is the dominant soil type in the Aube?
Clay
What are Les bleus de ville?
Remnants of blue plastic bags used to ship composted trash in the vineyards of Champagne
Pinot Noir accounts for how much of Champagne’s acreage?
38.00%
Chardonnay accounts for how much of Champagne’s acreage?
30.00%
Pinot Meunier accounts from how much of Champagne’s acreage?
32.00%
What are the four minor grapes of Champagne?
- Pinot Blanc
- Fromenteau (Pinot Gris)
- Petit Meslier
- Arbane
What are the four permitting pruning techniques in Champagne?
Cordon de Royat, Chablis, Vallée de la Marne, Guyot (double and simple)
The CIVC set a limit on press yield in 1992. What is it?
102L/160kg of grapes, or 2550L/4000kg (4000kg is the capacity of a Coquard basket press)
Why is pinot meunier popular in the Vallée de la Marne?
It buds late and ripens early, which is good in a frost-prone region.
What is blocage?
The reserve of wine stocks for future vintages
What is deblocage?
The release of reserved wine for use in a vintage
What are the only two Premier Crus with a 99% rating?
- Mareuil-sur-Ay (Vallée de la Marne)
- Tauxières (Montagne de Reims)
When was a minimum value of 80 set for the échelle de Crus?
1985
When did one’s ranking in the échelle de Crus change from a set price to a recommendation of pricing?
1990
What two regions of Champagne have no Grand Cru villages?
- Côte de Sézanne
- Côte des Bars (Aube)
What are the Grand Cru Villages of the Montagne de Reims?
- Sillery
- Puisieulx
- Beaumont-sur-Vesle
- Verzenay
- Mailly
- Verzy
- Louvois
- Bouzy
- Ambonnay
What are the Grand Cru Villages of the Vallée de la Marne?
- Aÿ
- Tours-sur-Marne (up for debate, listed as Montagne de Reims)
What are the Grand Cru Villages of the Côte des Blancs?
- Chouilly
- Oiry
- Cramant
- Avize
- Oger
- Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
What five villages were elevated to Grand Cru status in 1985?
- Verzy
- Chouilly
- Oiry
- Oger
- Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
What does NM mean?
Négociant Manipulant: a house that purchases grapes or base wines from other smaller houses
What does RM mean?
Récoltant Manipulant: a grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate grown fruit (<95%)
What does CM mean?
Coopérative Manipulant: a growers co-op that produces wine under a single brand
What does RC mean?
Récoltant Coopérateur: a grower who vinifies at a co-op but produces wine under his own label
What does SR mean?
Sociéte de Récoltants: A firm of related growers who share resources to make their wines and market them under their own separate brands
What does ND mean?
Négociant Distributeur: a middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make
What does MA mean?
Marque d’Acheteur: A “Buyer’s Own Brand” that purchases champagne and sells it under its own label.
What are the three pressings of Champagne?
Vin de Cuvée, Vin de Taille, Rebêche
What is the volume of the Vin de Cuvée?
The first 2,050L
What is the volume of the Vin de Taille?
The next 500L
What is Rebêche, and what is it used for?
The third and final pressing of Champagne, comprising 1-10% of the total, used for distillate
What is débourbage?
Settling of must or wine, prior to racking
What are bourbes?
Sediments/solids in the must or wine
What is vin clair?
Champagne base wine
What often happens to vin clair after primary and malolactic (if applicable) fermentation?
Fining, filtering, and cold-stabilization
What comprises liqueur de tirage?
Still wine, yeasts, sugar, and fining agents
What is prise de mousse?
The secondary fermentation
What is a bidule?
The plastic cap inserted into a champagne bottle pre-secondary fermentation, intended to catch the sediment during remuage
How much alcohol is generally acquired during the secondary fermentation?
1.2-1.3%
What does Sur Latte indicate?
Bottles stored on their sides
What is pointage?
A historic practice of shaking the bottles pre-remuage to prevent sediment from sticking to the sides of the bottle (the need for this has been eradicated by newer strains of yeast)
What is a gyropalette?
A spanish invention for mass reumage, holding 504 bottles.
What does Sur Pointe indicate?
Bottles held in an upside-down vertical position
What is dégorgement à la glace?
The modern method: bottles are dipped in a freezing brine solution to freeze the sediment and a small portion of wine before disgorging.
What is dégorgement à la volée?
The traditional method, which uses the air bubble trapped in the bottle to eject the sediment plug.
What is liqueur d’expédition?
Dosage
What is the residual sugar in Extra Brut Champagne?
0-6g/L
What is the residual sugar in Brut Champagne?
0-12g/L
What is the residual sugar in Extra Dry Champagne?
12-17g/L
What is the residual sugar in Sec Champagne?
17-32 g/L
What is the residual sugar in Demi-Sec Champagne?
32-50 g/L
What is the residual sugar in Doux Champagne?
50+ g/L
By law, all Champagne cannot be disgorged before what time elapses?
12 months from tirage.
NV Champagne cannot be released to market before when?
15 months from tirage
Vintage Champagne cannot be released to market before when?
3 years from tirage
What is a Piccolo?
Quarter bottle/187mL
What is a Demi?
Half bottle/375mL
What is a Magnum?
2 bottles/1.5L
What is a Jeroboam?
4 bottles/3L
What is a Rehoboam?
6 bottles/4.5L
What is a Methuselah?
8 bottles/6L
What is a Salamanazar?
12 bottles/9L
What is a Balthazar?
16 bottles/12L
What is a Nebuchadnezzar?
20 bottles/15L
What is a Solomon?
24 bottles/18L
What is the Bordelais synonym for a Solomon?
Melchior
What year was the Rehoboam discontinued?
1989
When was Special Club founded, and how many producers does it contain?
1971; 26 producers
Other than the Crémants, what AOPs in France produce Traditional Method sparkling wine?
Vouvray, Montlouis-Sur-Loire, Saumur, Vin de Savoie, Seyssel, Blanquette de Limoux
Where is Roederer Estate?
Anderson Valley
Who produces Domaine Carneros?
Taittinger
Where is Domaine Chandon?
Yountville
What is Charmat?
A method of producing sparkling wine in tank: after the primary fermentation comes to a close, liqueur de tirage is added to the tank, which is pressurized. Once the secondary fermentation is finished the wine is filtered and bottled.
What is the Continuous Method?
Similar to Charmat, except that the wine is pumped through a series of interconnected tanks through the secondary fermentation, with more liqueur de tirage added constantly. As the lees accumulate, they create a higher degree of autolyzed flavors in the wine.
What is Cuve Close?
A synonym for Charmat
What is Transvasage?
The transfer, or Kriter method:
- the wine undergoes secondary fermentation in bottle, but rather than submit to riddling, the bottles are disgorged into a pressurized tank, filtered, and then bottled with dosage.
What method is used for bottles larger than a jeroboam or smaller than a half bottle?
Transvasage
What is MCR?
Mout Concentre Rectifie (concentrated and rectified grape must), often from the Languedoc or other high-volume regions, processed into neutrality and used for dosage.
What is provignage?
layering
What is en foule?
haphazard placement of vines resulting from replanting by layering
Three Special Club Producers in the Montagne de Reims
- Paul Bara (Bouzy)
- J. Lassalle (Chigny-lès Roses)
- A. Margaine (Villers-Marmery)
- Duménil (Chigny-lès-Roses*)
- Forget-Chemin (Ludes*)
- Fresnet-Juillet (Verzy)
- JM Goulard (Prouilly)
- Hervieux-Dumez (Sacy*)
- Juillet-Lallement (Verzy)
- Mouzon-Leroux et Fils (Verzy)
- Salmon (Chamuzy)
Three Special Club Producers in the Vallée de la Marne
- Gaston Chiquet (Dizy)
- Henri Goutorbe (Aÿ)
- Marc Hébrart (Mareuil-sur-Aÿ)
- José Michel (Moussy)
- Moussé (Cuisles)
- Joseph Loriot-Pagel (Festigny)
- Sanchez-le Guédard (Cumières*)
- Charlier et Fils (Montigny-sous-Châtillon)
Three Special Club Producers in the Côte des Blancs
- Vazart-Coquart et Fils (Chouilly)
- Pierre Gimmonet et Fils (Cuis)
- Larmandier Père et Fils (Cuis)
- Grognet (Etoges)
- Vincent Joudart (Fèrebrianges)
- Launois Père et Fils (Mesnil-Sur-Oger)
- Nominé-Renard (Villevenard)
- Pertois-Moriset (Mesnil-sur-Oger)
- Roland Champion (Chouilly)
Special Club Producer in the Aube
- Rémy-Massin et Fils (Ville-sur-Arce)
Five Premier Cru Villages in the Montagne de Reims
- Villers-Marmery
- Vrigny
- Chigny-les-Roses
- Jouy-lès-Reims
- Ludes
- Tauxières-Mutry
- Trépail
- Rilly-la-Montagne
- Avenay-Val-d’Or
- Bezannes
- Billy-le-Grand
- Chamery
- Cormontreuil
- Coulommes-la-Montagne
- Écueil
- Les Mesneux
- Montbré
- Pargny-lès-Reims
- Sacy
- Sermiers
- Taissy
- Trois-Puits
- Vaudemange
- Villers-Allerand
- Villers-aux-Nœuds
- Ville-Dommange
Three Premier Cru Villages in the Vallée de la Marne
- Cumières
- Dizy
- Hautvillers
- Mareuil-sur-Aÿ
- Bisseuil
- Champillon
- Mutigny
Three Premier Cru Villages in the Côte des Blancs
- Cuis
- Pierry
- Vertus
- Voipreux
- Bergères-lès-Vertus
- Étréchy
- Grauves
- Val-des-Marais (Coligny)
- Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny