Champagne - General Flashcards
What is Dom Perignon’s lasting contribution to Champagne?
Assemblage
Where was Dom Perignon cellar master?
Abbey of Hautvillers in the Marne
What is the oldest Champagne house still in operation? When was it founded?
Gosset in 1584
What is the oldest sparkling Champagne house still in operation? When was it founded?
Ruinart in 1729
What did the Champenoise use to color their wines?
Elderberry
What did Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin pioneer? Who was she?
She was the Veuve (Widow) Cliqout
She pioneered the process of “remuage” or riddling to remove sediment from bottles during disgorgement
Who discovered the relationship between sugar and fermentation?
Jean-Antoine Chaptal
Who released the first Brut Champagne, and when?
Pommery “Nature”
1874
When was the region of Champagne first delimited?
1908
When was the Aube reinstated as a Champagne producing region?
1927
When was the Commission de Chalons founded? What were its roles?
1935
To promote quality standards and regulate pricing
What organization grew from the work of the Commission de Chalons to regulate Champagne? When, and who founded it?
Comite Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC)
1941
Count Robert-Jean de Vogue of Moet et Chandon
What wine started the trend of tete de cuvee bottlings? When was it released?
“Dom Perignon” by Moet et Chandon
1921
When was the last time Champagne’s borders were broadened?
2009
In what parallels is Champagne located?
Between the 48th and 49th
What are the major viticultural hazards of Champagne?
Frost, hail, rain, fungal disease
Cold and moisture
What is a “bouvreux?”
A second crop caused by rain interrupting flowering
It rarely ripens
What is the most famous soil of Champagne? The second?
Belemnite Chalk, found on the slopes
Micraster Chalk is found in the valleys
What is the dominant soil type of the Aube?
Clay
What are “le bleus de ville?”
Remnants of bags used to transport compostable garbage to Champagne
The practice was outlawed in 1998
What are the less well-known grapes allowed for Champagne?
Pinot Blanc Vrai
Arbane
Pinot Gris
Petit Meslier
What are the limits of extraction on wine?
102 L per 160KG
2550 L per 4000 KG (a marc of grapes, the amount held by a traditional Coquard basket press)
All this brings the final yield down from 100 hl/ha to 66 hl/ha
What are the four pruning methods allowed in Champagne?
Cordon de Royat
Chablis
Vallee de la Marne
Guyot (double and simple)
What are “blocage” and “deblocage?”
The reserve and release of wine stocks for use
What is the “Echelle de Crus?”
A percentile system in use until 1990 that determined the prices for grapes
Set by CIVC until 1990
What range on the Echelle de Crus denoted 1er Cru status?
90% to 99%
What 1er Crus have a 99% rating?
Mareuil-sur-Ay in Vallee de la Marne
Tauxieres in Montagne de Reims
What percentage of grapes must be produced by a grower to be labeled a Recoltant Manipulant?
95%