Champagne & Sparkling Wine Flashcards
What is the CVIC?
The regulatory body responsible for mediating relations between growers and producers; oversees the production methods and promotion of champagne.
What is the methode champenoise?
Harvest, Pressing, Primary Fermentation, Blending, Adding Liquer De Tirage, Bottling, Secondary Fermentation, Riddling, Degorgement, Dosage
What are the varietals used in champagne?
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
What is the soil type mostly found in the Champagne region?
Chalk
What is the climate in the Champagne region?
Continental
Where is the Champagne region located?
In and around Reims, France
Name seven champagne producers.
Chandon Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot, Charles Heidsick, Marc Hebrart, Louis Roederer, Laurent Perrier, Taittinger
What is “encepagement”?
The blending of different varietals, vintages, and villages.
What is “assemblage”?
The “act” of blending…creating the house flavor style.
What are the appellations of Champagne?
Montagne de Reims, Vallee de Marnes, Cotes de Blanc, Cotes de Sezanne, Cotes de Bars
What is the main varietal of Montage de Reims?
Pinot Noir
What is the main varietal of Vallee de Marnes?
Pinot Meunier
What is the main varietal of Cotes de Blanc?
Chardonnay
What is the main varietal of Cotes de Sezanne?
Chardonnay
What is the main varietal of Cotes de Bars?
Pinot Noir
What is the cru status awarded to?
The village
What is “saignee”?
Allowing the grape juice to be in contact with the skins.
What is a “coquard”?
The basket pressed used for champagne production.
What is “latte”?
The name given to the second fermenting wine before the liqueur de tirage is added.
What is the grand cru of Moet Chandon?
Dom Perignon
What is the grand cru of Veuve Clicquot?
La Grande Dame
What is the grand cru of Perriere Joyette?
Bella Epoque
What is the grand cru of Roederer?
Crystal
What is the grand cru of Ruinart?
Dom Ruinart
What is the grand cru of Charles Heidsick?
Blanc de Milleniers
What is the grand cru of Taittinger?
Comtes de Champagne
What is the grand cru of Krug?
Grand Cuvee
What is the grand cru of Nicolas Feuillatte?
Palmes d’Or
What is the grand cru of Paul Roget?
Cuvee “Sir Winston Churchill”
What is the grand cru of Henriot?
Cuvee Des En Chantelleurs
What is the grand cru of Salon?
Le Mesnil
List the styles of champagne from dry to sweet.
Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, Demi-Sec, Doux
How many grand crus in Champagne?
17
How many premier crus in Champagne?
44
What is the liqueur de tirage?
A mixture of sugar and yeast added to champagne after the first fermentation to begin the second fermentation.
What is “autolysis”?
The breakdown of dead yeast cells.
What is the minimum amount of time a non-vintage style of champagne must remain in the cellar?
15 Months
What is the minimum amount of time a vintage style of champagne must remain in the cellar?
36 Months
What is a tete de cuvee?
A prestige bottling of champagne
What does “sur latte” refer to?
A bottle being stored horizontally
What does the word “mousseux” imply?
Effervescence
What is the oldest Champagne house still in operation today?
Gosset, established in 1584
What is the mean annual temperature in Champagne?
50 Degrees
What are the four pruning methods used in Champagne?
Cordon de Royat, Chablis, Vallee de la Marne, and Guyot (double and simple)
What is “blocage” and “deblocage”?
The reserve and release of wine stocks for use in future vintages.
What is a “Negociant Manipulant”?
A Champagne house that purchases grapes and/or base wines from growers and other smaller houses.
What is a “Recoltant Manipulant”?
A grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate-grown fruit. (95% must come from the producer’s own vineyards) Think: Marc Hebrart
What is a “Cooperative Manipulant”?
A growers co-operative that produces wine under a single brand.
What is a “Recoltant Cooperateur”?
A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.
What is a “Societe de Recoltants”?
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.
What is a :Negociant Distributeur”?
A middlman company that distributes Champagne it did not make.
What is a “Marque d’Archeteur”?
A “buyers own brand”, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.
What is a “pupitre”?
Two large wooden planks fastened together in an “A” shape, with 60 holes cut into each plank of wood. Used for riddling.
What is a “remuer”?
The person or machine that oversees and executes the riddling process in developing Champagne.
What is a “gyropalette”?
An automated riddling device that holds 504 Champagne bottles.
What is “riddling”?
Turning and tilting a bottle of Champagne by fractional increments until the bottles are inverted with the neck pointing downward, collecting the yeast sediment at the neck of the bottle.
List the Champagne bottle sizes larger than a 750ml bottle.
Magnum, Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Methuselah, Salmanazar, Balthazar, Nebuchadnezzar, Solomon
What are the still wines of Champagne?
Coteaux Champenois and Rose de Riceys
What is the Methode Ancestrale?
The oldest method of creating sparkling wine. It only has a primary fermentation and is then bottled w/out liqueur de tirage. After fermentation is complete in the bottle, the wine is disgorged, filtered and rebottled w/out dosage.
What is the Charmat Process or Tank Method?
Creating sparkling wine by adding liquer de tirage to the wine in a pressurized, enamel lined tank, or autoclave. Once the appropriate pressure is reached, the wine is chilled (halting fermentation) and then filtered and bottles.
