Champagne Method and Winemaking Flashcards
Why did Champagne not often ferment to dryness after harvest?
Because it had a northerly postion and its early onset of winter cold.
In the spring yeast was then resuscitated and finished the job often leaving the wine slight spritzy
When during the process does the wine become sparkling?
During the second Fermentation
Still Wine Production
- The juice is chilled, allowed to rest- So that the particulate matter can settle out of solution
- The clear and particulate free juice undergoes it’s first alcoholic Fermentation and is converted into dry wine
- Different grape Varieties are Fermented separately so are different vineyard lots
Rose Chamapgne?
- Is most often made by adding a small amount of red wine (Pinot Noir) to the white cuvée
- Some producers, simply opt to vinify a rose as base wine
- These are both okay by law
Assemblage
- Various and sundry base wines are blended together
- This was established to create consistency in flavour from year to year
- Seasonal variation is minimised through the careful admixing of several past vintages held in reserve
Triage
Means bottling
Yeast and sugar (liqueur De tirage) is mixed into the blended wine (cuvée) and bottled
This is the point where the trad method is different to the rural method
Liqueur De tirage guarentees a sparkling product and guarentees a predictable amount of sparkle
Sur Lattes
- After the base wine and the liqueur De tirage, the bottle is sealed with a crown seal or cork and staple and placed on its side in the wine cellar seperated by thin stripes of wood called lattes
- Storage in this method is referred to as Sur lattes
Prise De Mousse
- Seizing The foam
- Refers to the second alcoholic Fermentation that takes place on the same bottle from which the wine is later served
- Creates between 4.9 and 6 atms Of pressure (approximately 75- 90 pounds per square inch)
Sur Lie Aging
- Yeast dies when ferment is complete. They decompose, releasing proteins that contribute to a textured mouth feel and the “champagne bouquet”
- Longer wine spends aging, more completely carbon dioxide dissolved into the wine forming an ever smaller (and more delicate) bubble or bead
Aging Requirements?
- NV: Minimum 12 months on lees and at least 15 months in the cellar from tirage to release
- Vintage champagne: a total of three years in the cellar
Remuage
- Bottles rapidly and vigourosly turned simultaneously shifted in space in order to move them from a horizontal to a vertical position
- Its is credited to Nicole Barbe Ponsardin Cliquot
- Developing The “A” shaped riddling racks known as pupitres
Mechanized Remuage
- Gyropalettes perform the same task
- Bottles are stacked in metal boxes that move and shift in space, effectively moving the yeast into the neck of the bottle in one week (vs three months), while taking up less space
What differs champagne production from the rural method?
The Second Fermentation in bottle
What is a reason the grapes are picked with less sugar?
Alcohol is toxic to yeast
Are grapes pressed and fermented separately? Was this always the case?
Yes and No
Most champagne houses ferment in…….
Stainless steel. A couple do so in oak still (ie Krug)
How long does the secondary fermentation take place for?
30 days
When was cork rediscovered as a closure?
1600s
How many times is a bottle of champagne roughly handed?
45 times (on average)
Champagne is a……..
Broad expanse of flat to gently undulating open plains just east of Paris
Why was champagne used as a battleground?
It’s flat…..
Traditional Method or Methode Traditonelle?
It’s called Methode Champenoise or Champagne Method
What is the Ban Des Vendanges?
The CIVC dictated date to harvest grapes based on the required potential alcohol level required to harvest grapes is 9%
A grower can get permission to pick earlier if the crops alcohol already exceeds 10% and secondly, if there is disease pressure
When is harvest date?
Usually around August- September. Last time the grapes were harvested in October was 1988. The earliest harvest was July 7th Of 2003.
What is the picking circumstances?
Must be hand picked and kept cool. By picking hot, the grapes would bleed pigment.
How are grapes pressed?
Whole cluster pressed
What a coquard press?
A basket press that is shallow and wide. It is still in use by some producers. It is 29.5 inches/ 75 cms deep and holds 8,800 pounds/ 4000 kg of fruit. This is known as the marc.
What is the marc?
The quantity of fruit in a coquard press. It equals 704 US Gallons/ 2566 litres of juice= 244 cases of wine. It takes 4 hours to produce one marc.
The top half of a coquard press is___________ the bottom is called _______________
Maie and a mouton
What is retoussage?
It happens between pressings. It is when the mouton is lifted and the squashed grapes are scooped into a pile in the centre of the marc using wooden shovels. Restroussage means to “turn up” or “tick up”.
What is the different phases of juice extraction known as?
The tailles (cuts). This is because marc is so compact near the end of cycle it needs to be cut into chunks of the last pressing. This is done by beche plate.
What is an advantage of the coquard press?
It has a shallow design meaning minimal skin contact. Each press fraction has a different nature.