Champagne Quiz Flashcards
What parallel does Champagne lie?
Between 48 - 49.5 degrees
What is the climate in Champagne?
Dual - Continental and Maritime
What are weather threats?
Low temps
Frost
Hail
Fog
Rain
Humidity
Soils of Champagne?
3 types
Chalk
Limestone
Sand/Clay
What is the best chalk in Champagne?
Belemite
What are the 2 types of chalk?
Belemite - dart like squid
Micraster - sea urchin
What soils does Pinot Noir prefer?
Limestone rich marls
What do clay soils produce?
Tight and taut wines that need aging
What do sandy soil wins produce?
Easy drinking open wines that are fruit forward
What is the most northern part of Champagne?
Massif de St-Thierry
What is the most southern part of Champagne?
Les Riceys
What type of chalk is found in the upper to mid vineyard slopes, and so is ideal for sun exposure and water drainage?
Belemite
What is the name of the upland sub-region to the north of Épernay?
Montagne de Reims
Who was baptised in Reims on Christmas Day 496, by Saint Remigius, the Bishop of Reims?
Clovis
Which Champagne house can claim to be the oldest?
Ruinart
What is the best root stock in Chalk soils?
41B keeps chlorosis eg iron deficiency away
What training method is used exclusively for Meunier?
Vallée de la Marne training protects against frost
What is the term for blending the various base wines – vins clairs – to create the cuvée?
Assemblage
What names can be given for the mixture added to each bottle towards the end of the process that defines the champagne style?
Liqueur de Dosage
Liqueur d’Expedition
Which champagne grape gives the least amount of acidity to a blend?
Pinot Noir
What is the 3rd most planted grape in Champagne?
Chardonnay
What is the ranking of grapes in Champagne?
- Pinot Noir 38%
- Meunier 32%
- Chardonnay 30%
Name the AOCs in Champagne?
- Rosé des Riceys - PN 100%
- Coteaux Champenois - 2X production from Ricey
- Champagne AOC - Only sparkling
Number of villages
Grand Cru
Premier Grand Cru
17
42
In which sub-region of Champagne is Rosé des Riceys produced?
Côte des Bar
What is the system for deciding whether a village is a Premier Cru, Grand Cru, or neither, called?
Échelle des Crus
What can Blanc de Noirs be made from?
Although Blanc de Noirs champagnes are most associated with Pinot Noir, Meunier can also be used – or they can be a blend of both.
Tirage
Bottling
Cuvee?
Used for both the purest part of the pressed juice and a blend.
Dégorgement
Removal of the yeast sediment from the bottle.
If your bottle of Champagne is made solely from grapes grown in the Côte des Blancs, what style of champagne are you most likely to be drinking?
Blanc de Blancs
since almost 100% Chardonnay grown there
What can Blanc de Blanc be made from
Chardonnay
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Gris
Arbanne
Petit Meslier
Vins Clairs
The still wines, after the first fermentation but before bottling – the base wines.
The solution of wine and sugar to sweeten champage?
Dosage
Blending the base wines
Assemblage
Machine and handpicked?
The AOC regulations state that grapes for champagne have to be picked by hand.
Turning, twisting, shaking and tilting the bottles to move the sediment to the neck
Remuage
Which French King championed champagne and is said to have drunk it with every meal?
Louis the XIV
Which Champagne sub-region has the same soils as those in Chablis – Kimmeridgean Marls?
Côte des Bar
Production Stages
- Assemblage - blend
- Tirage - bottle
- Élevage - 2nd ferm
- Rémuage - riddling
- Dégorgement
- Dosage
Vintage
12 months on the lees and 36 months in total, minimum.
Non-vintage
12 months on the lees and 15 months in total, minimum.
Pinot Noir adds:
Moderate ABV and lowest Acidity
In what type of vessel is most champagne fermented?
Stainless steel tanks