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My Decks > Champagne & Sparkling > Flashcards

Champagne & Sparkling Flashcards

1
Q

What are the sweetness levels for Champagne

A

Sweetness Levels for Champagne

Designation Residual Sugar

Brut Nature/Non-Dosé: 0-3 grams per liter, no added dosage

Extra Brut: 0-6 grams per liter

Brut: 0-12 grams per liter

Extra Dry: 12-17 grams per liter

Sec: 17-32 grams per liter

Demi-Sec: 32-50 grams per liter

Doux: 50+ grams per liter

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2
Q

What are the 5 districts for Champagne production, main grapes

A

Montagne de Reims (Pinot Noir)
Vallée de la Marne (Meunier)
Côte des Blancs (Chardonnay)
Côte de Sézanne (Chardonnay)
Côte des Bars /the Aube (Pinot Noir)

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3
Q

What was Dom Perignon’s contribution to Champagne production

A

assemblage (blending) and viticulture

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4
Q

Champagne Map

A
  1. Vallée de la Marne: Aÿ & Tours -sur-Marne (red grapes are Grand Cru) - Meunier is minor for Grand Cru wines
  2. Chouilly (white grapes Grand Cru) - over 99% of Côtes des Blanc GC production is chardonnay
  3. Oiry* & Avize

other Grand Crus: Chouilly, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger - * after 1985

  1. Cote de Sézanne
  2. Pinot Noir, clay
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5
Q

Champagne is located between the ____ and ____ parallels

A

48th and 49th parallels

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6
Q

What Grand Crud Village of Montagne de Reims is planted to more Chardonnay than Pinot Noir, which has the highest planting of Meunier

A. Puisieulx

B. Sillery

C. Verzenay

D. Bouzy

E. Mailly-Champagne

A

A. Sillery: 57% Chard - 33% PN

B. Puisieulx: 32% Chard - 53% PN - 14% Meunier

Grand Cru Villages: Sillery, Puisieulx, Beaumont-Sur-Vesle, Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne, Verzy (added after 1985), Louvois, Bouzy, Ambonnay

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7
Q

What’s the most planted grape in Champagne? 2nd, 3rd?

A

2018

Pinot Noir accounted for 38% of total plantings - Supports the wine’s structure, richness, and body

Meunier 32% - Youthful fruitiness, early maturing richness and approachability

Chardonnay 30% - Provides elegance and longevity

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8
Q

Match all Champagne Bottle Sizes to the amount of Liters

Solomon (Melchoir), Salmanazar, Methuselah, Balthazar, Nebuchadnezzar, Quarter, Piccolo, Jeroboam , Melchizedek/Midas, Sovereign, Rehoboam, Primat/Goliath

187ml, 3L, 4.5L, 6L, 9L, 12L, 15L, 18L, 26.25L, 27L, 30L

A

Piccolo - 187ml - 1/4 bottle - 1 glass (heavy)

Demi / Half - 375 ml - 1/2 bottle - 2.5 glasses

Bottle - 750ml - 5 glasses

Magnum - 1.5L - 2 bottles - 10 glasses

Jeroboam - 3L - 4 bottles - 20 glasses

Rehoboam - 4.5L - 6 bottles - 30 glasses - discontinued in 1989

Methuselah - 6L - 8 bottles - 40 glasses

Salmanazar - 9L - 12 bottles - 60 glasses

Balthazar - 12L - 16 bottles - 80 glasses

Nebuchadnezzar - 15L - 20 bottles - 101 glasses

Solomon (Melchoir) - 18L - 24 bottles - 121 glasses

Sovereign - 26.25L - 35 bottles - 177 glasses

Primat / Goliath - 27L - 36 bottles - 182 glasses

Melchizedek / Midas - 30L - 40 bottles - 202 glasses

* Larger sizes, including the Sovereign and Primat, are extraordinarily rare. Many sources cite the 18 L bottle as a Melchior, as it is called in Bordeaux.

For bottle sizes larger than a Jeroboam and smaller than a half bottle, the Transvasage, or Transfer, method is permitted. In this method, remuage is unnecessary, as the wine is disgorged into a pressurized tank and filtered. Dosage is added, and the wine is transferred to a clean bottle under pressure.

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9
Q

What is the dominant soil type of Champagne’s slopes? What is the most dominant soil type in Champagne’s valleys?

A

Belemnite Chalk on the slopes - hgih limestone content, vine roots dig deeply and is linked to increased acidity. It also absorbs heat to protect the vines at night and provides excellent drainage in the wet climate.
Micraster chalk in the valley vineyard

Aube is clay driven

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10
Q

Other than the three principal grapes, which other grapes are permitted in select areas?

A

Pinot Blanc Vrai
Arbane
Pinot Gris
Petit Meslier

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11
Q

On average what is the average age of vines in Champagne?

A

20 years

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12
Q

What are the four permitted pruning methods in Champagne?

A

Cordon de Royat
Chablis
Vallée de la Marne
Guyot (double and simple)

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13
Q

What max yield of juice was set by the CIVC in 1992 for Champagne pressings?

Why is the max yield for a Champagne pressing 4,000kg?

A

102L of must for every 160kg of grapes or 2550L/4,000kg (a marc of grapes)

This is the amount held in a traditional Coquard basket press.

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14
Q

How many Grand Cru villages are there in Champagne? Premier Cru villages?

A

17 Grand Cru
42 Premier Cru

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15
Q

Up until 1990, the CIVC set the price of grapes through the Échelle des Crus, a percentile system by which the villages, or crus, of the Champagne appellation are rated. What were the corresponding Echelle des Crus value ranges for each cru level? What did this mean?

A 
Grand Cru (100)
Premier Cru (90-99)
Cru (below 90)

The value would indicate the percent of a set price for grapes sold in Champagne for that harvest the producer would be able to sell their grapes for.

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16
Q

What are the three parts of a traditional Champagne pressing called? Describe them

A

Vin de Cuvée
The first 2,050L mostly free run and the purest juice

Vin de Taille is the next 500L and is usually richer in pigment and tannin. Often sold off in lesser wines by producers.

Rebêche is the last part constituting 1-10% of last part of pressing. This is used for distillate or ratafia

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17
Q

What is débourbage?

A

The settling of pressed juice following the press that occurs usually at a cold temperature for 15-18 hours to allow the remaining solids (bourbes) to settle at the bottom of the vat to facilitate a quality racking.

18
Q

How many holes are in a traditional pupitre? How long does traditional remuage take? What modern innovation has replaced the pupitre in many big houses?

A

60,

8 weeks

Spanish invented gyropalette - 504 bottles
Takes a week or less

19
Q

There are 2 methods for disgorgement - Dégorgement à la glace and Dégorgement à la volée, explain the difference

A

Dégorgement à la glace
more modern technique wherein the neck of the bottle i dipped in a freezing brine solution. The bottle is then turned upright and the crown cap is popped allowing the internal pressure to expel the semi-frozen sediment (and a small portion of wine)

Dégorgement à la volée
older method that involves the same principles minus the freezing of the yeast. More excess wine is lost in the process of this.

20
Q

Transversage is permitted in Champagne for which bottle sizes? Explain the process?

A

bottles larger than a Jeroboam (3L) or smaller than a half bottle - In this method, remuage is unnecessary, as the wine is disgorged into a pressurized tank and filtered. Dosage is added, and the wine is transferred to a clean bottle under pressure.

21
Q

Aging Requirements for Champagne

A

NV wines: Min. 15 months from date of tirage

Vintage Wines: Min. 36 months from date of tirage

22
Q

What is the vin de liqueur appellation of Champagne?

A

Ratafia de Champagne IGP

23
Q

What are three Champagne houses that ferment some base wines in old wooden barrels as is tradition?

A

Krug, Jacquesson, and Louis Roederer

24
Q

How many villages are designated as simply “Cru” in Champagne?

A

258

25
Q

When was riddling or remuage pioneered and by who?

A

1816 by Antoine de Müller, chef de cave of Veuve Clicquot

26
Q

What is the max yield for Champagne vines?

A

65hl/ha

6500 lites (1717 Gallons) to 2.47 acres = (1HA)

27
Q

Due to the soils poverty in Champagne fertilization is added constantly. What are the two most common sources for this?

A

cendres noires (natural compost found on the region’s hilltops

until the late 1990s, finely ground household rubbish from Reims or even Paris.

28
Q

What are the two still wine appellations of Champagne? What’s the difference between the two?

A

Coteaux Champenois
Rosé de Riceys

Coteaux Champenois is an appellation for still red, white, and rosé wines from the entire Champagne appellation.

Rosé de Riceys is reserved for 100% Pinot Noir rosé wines produced in Les Riceys, a cru village in the Aube

29
Q

When did the “Special Club” concept originate? Why did it materialize?

A

1971

lacking the marketing budgets of larger houses, this collection of smaller producers banded together to promote their prestige cuvées through identical packaging.

Special Club bottlings are estate-bottled, vintage-dated wines that represent the pinnacle of each individual grower’s style and production. RM’s

30
Q

Match the the terms

SR (Société de Récoltants), RM (Récoltant Manipulant), ND (Négociant Distributeur), CM (Coopérative Manipulant), RC (Récoltant Coopérateur), MA (Marque d’Acheteur), NM (Négociant Manipulant):

A house that purchases grapes and or base wines from growers and other smaller houses. some houses own a significant portion of their own vineyards; others own none at all. Large Champagne houses with the most international presence

A grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate-grown fruit. 95% of the grapes must originate in the producer’s own vineyards.

A growers’ co-operative that produces the wine under a single brand.

A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.

A firm, not a co-operative, set up by a union of often related growers, who share resources to make their wines and collectively market several brands.

A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make.

A buyer’s own brand, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.

A

NM (Négociant Manipulant): A house that purchases grapes and or base wines from growers and other smaller houses. Some NM houses own a significant portion of their own vineyards; others own none at all. Large Champagne houses with the most international presence are invariably in this category

RM (Récoltant Manipulant): A grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate-grown fruit. 95% of the grapes must originate in the producer’s own vineyards.

CM (Coopérative Manipulant): A growers’ co-operative that produces the wine under a single brand.

RC (Récoltant Coopérateur): A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.

SR (Société de Récoltants): A firm, not a co-operative, set up by a union of often related growers, who share resources to make their wines and collectively market several brands.

ND (Négociant Distributeur): A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make.

MA (Marque d’Acheteur): A buyer’s own brand, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.

31
Q

Match the producer to the Single Vineyard (Monoparcel) Champagne

Clos du Mesnil & Clos d’Ambonnay, Clos des Goisses, Clos St-Hilaire, Vénus Brut Nature,

Les Folies de la Marquetterie NV

Philipponnat

Agrapart

Billecart-Salmon

Krug

Taittinger

A
  • Agrapart (RM, Avize): Vénus Brut Nature - 100% Chard
  • Billecart-Salmon (NM, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ): Clos St-Hilaire - 100% PN (1995)
  • Krug (NM, Reims): “Clos du Mesnil”: 100% Chard (1979) - Clos d’Ambonnay: 100% PN (1995)
  • Taittinger: Les Folies de la Marquetterie NV - 55% Chard, 45% PN (2006)
  • Philipponnat (NM, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ): Clos des Goisses - 70% PN, 30% Chard (1935)
32
Q

How much of the stated vintage must be from the declared vintage? What % is allowed to be used of from that harvest?

A

Vintage: 100% stated vintage, maximum 80% of a year’s harvest may be sold as vintage Champagne. The better houses declare a vintage only in exceptional years. These are usually brut in style

33
Q

Must single vineyard champagen carry a vintage?

A

NO

Single Vineyard wines are not required to carry a vintage date, although they invariably do, and the style represents a stark departure from the blending philosophy of the region.

Philipponnat’s “Clos de Goisses,” originally released for the 1935 vintage from one of the few walled vineyards of the region, remains a benchmark bottling.

34
Q

What Producer’s Tete de Cuvee

A

80% Pinot Noir & 20% Chardonnay - 1990

35
Q

Producer

A

Chardonny and Pinot Noir 1975

36
Q

Name the Producer

A

Egly-Ouriet

Barrel Fermentation

Tradition Brut Grand Cru NV: 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay sourced from Ambonnay, Bouzy, and Verzenay.

V.P. Extra Brut Grand Cru NV: “Vieillisement prolongé” or “extended aging;” the wine spends atleast seven years on the lees prior to disgorgement. 70% PInot Noir, 30% Chardonnay.

Les Vignes de Vrigny Brut Premier Cru NV: 100% Meunier.

Les Crayères Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru NV: 100% Pinot Noir from vines planted in 1946 on pure chalk (crayères) soils.

Blanc de Noirs Brut Grand Cru Vintage

Cuvée des Grands Côtés Coteaux Champenois Rouge: 100% Pinot Noir entirely from Ambonnay.

37
Q

Producer

A

Jacque Selosse

Récoltant Manipulant

Substance, is created out of a Solera of twelve different vintages

Fermentation comes from all ambient yeast. He ferments the base wines in a mix of pieces (228 L), Fût (400L), and Demi-Muids (600L). Malolactic is free to occur naturally but does not always occur. The base wine is aged for 12 months in barrel; typically less than 20% are new.

38
Q

Producer

A

Pierre Peters

100% Chard - formely Special Club

In order to maintain the freshness and elegance of Chardonnay, they choose to ferment exclusively in stainless steel. All wines go through malolactic fermentation. The dosage varies, depending on the wine, though in general falls between 2-6 g/l.

39
Q

Producer

A

Jacquesson

majority of the wines are fermented in large oak foudre, for structure and aromatics. All wines go through malolactic fermentation

Cuvée 7– Brut NV

Corne Bautray Extra Brut Vintage

Champs Caïn Extra Brut Vintage

Vauzelle Terme Extra Brut Vintage

Terres Rouges Extra Brut Rosé Vintage

currently making a large statement by bottling 4 different single vineyard wines, as well as crafting their basic NV cuvée to be more representative of the vintage in which the base grapes originated. Since 2000, these NV wines have been labeled by bin number, starting with 728.

40
Q

Producer

A

Gaston Chiquet

Chiquets are known for being the first récoltant manipulants in Champagne

Sélection Brut NV

Tradition Brut Premier Cru NV

Blanc de Blancs d’Aÿ Brut Grand Cru NV

Rosé Brut Premier Cru NV

Cuvée de Réserve Brut Premier Cru NV

Cuvée Or Brut Premier Cru Vintage

Spécial Club Brut Grand Cru Vintage

Brief Description of Style / Vinification Techniques: No oak is used during any of the vinification process. The Chiquets believe that grape concentration and full malolactic fermentation lend roundness to the wines.

41
Q

Name the producer

A

Philipponnat

The range of wines is primarily Pinot Noir dominant, and oak is used for both fermenting base wines as well as storing the dosage wines. The house is best known for its single vineyard holding, the famed Clos des Goisses vineyard. Clos de Goisses (1935), a 5.5 hectare vineyard with a 45 degree slope, is best known for its southern facing, slightly warmer hillside that ripens well, even in marginal vintages.

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