Champagne/Sparkling Wine Flashcards
What are Dom Perignon’s contributions to Champagne?
lie in the techniques of assemblage (blending) and viticulture
Where was Dom Perignon a cellarmaster?
Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668 until his death in 1715
Back in the 17th century was the vessel for Champagne and what did they transition to?
the English transferred Champagne from cask to stronger, coal-fired glass that could contain the pressure, and were likely the first to enjoy true sparkling Champagne
What is the oldest Champagne house still in operation today?
Gosset, the oldest Champagne house still in operation today, was founded in 1584 as a still wine producer
(Ruinart, established in 1729, can claim to be the oldest sparkling Champagne house).
Who created remuage/riddling?
Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the Veuve (“widow”) Clicquot
Who is Jean-Antoine Chaptal?
the French chemist and statesman for whom the process of chaptalization is named, identified the relationship between sugar and fermentation in a seminal 1801 work.
Who is André François’?
pharmacist André François’ measurement of the precise amount of sugar required to induce it without breaking the bottle, allowed Champagne houses to produce sparkling wines with greater confidence.
In 1908, the French government delimited the Champagne region. What happened when they did that?
Vignerons from the southern Aube region, who had long supplied Champagne houses with base white wine, protested and nearly rioted in 1911 after being excluded from the region. The Aube was reinstated as a full region of the appellation in 1927.
What year was the Aube reinstated as a full region of the appellation?
1927
In (year) the Commission de Châlons, a consortium of growers and merchants, was formed to develop quality standards and regulate pricing.
1935
When did phylloxera strike Champagne?
1890’s
When was the Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) created?
in 1941 during Nazi Occupation
Commission de Châlons, Count Robert-Jean de Vogüé of Moët et Chandon in 1941 organized a new, broader consortium of growers, producers and shippers to represent the Champagne industry and protect its interests in the face of Nazi occupation.
When was Moët et Chandon’s “Dom Pérignon,” first released?
1921
What are the largest export markets of Champagne?
UK
USA
Germany
Japan
The region of Champagne is located between the (blank and blank) parallels.
48th and 49th
Whats the average temp in Champagne?
With a mean annual temperature of only 50°F, ripening is extremely variable, and quality can differ greatly from year to year, requiring the houses of Champagne to blend between vintages to achieve a consistency in their house styles.
What are the viticultural threats of Champagne?
Frost, rain, fungal disease and hail are serious concerns for growers in the cold, Atlantic-influenced climate. Rain often interrupts flowering, resulting in a bouvreux, or second crop, that rarely ripens and is left on the vine.
What are the soil types of Champagne?
Belemnite chalk, derived from the fossilized remains of millions of extinct cephalopods, has a high limestone content, which allows vine roots to dig deeply and is linked to increased acidity.
A second layer of micraster chalk, named for an extinct sea urchin, characterizes the valley vineyards.
A thin layer of clay and sand covers much of the chalk in Champagne
What is special about the belemnite chalk subsoil?
belemnite chalk subsoil is pushed to the surface on the appellation’s slopes, absorbing heat to protect the vines at night and providing excellent drainage in the wet climate.
What is the soil in the Aube?
in the Aube to the south clay is the dominant soil type.
When was composting outlawed?
The Champenoise have a long history of relying on recycled Parisian garbage to fertilize their vineyards. Composting is admirable, but the portion of inorganic and toxic waste grew over time, and the practice was outlawed in 1998. Les bleus de ville remain, a reminder to a new generation of growers and caretakers.
What are the three main grapes for Champagne production?
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and the black grape Meunier (formerly Pinot Meunier—“miller’s” Pinot—named for the dusty appearance of its leaves).
In 2018, what the percentage of plantings for the three main grapes?
Pinot Noir accounted for 38% of total plantings
Chardonnay accounted for 31%
Pinot Meunier accounted for 31%
What characteristics do the three grapes provide to Champagne?
Chardonnay provides elegance and longevity
Pinot Noir supports the wine’s structure, richness and body
Pinot Meunier lends a youthful fruitiness and approachability.
What are the grapes that could be used in Champagne?
Pinot Blanc Vrai (“true” Pinot Blanc, a white form of Pinot Noir)
Arbane
Pinot Gris
Petit Meslier
There are 0.3% of these plantings out there
Only four pruning methods are permitted. What are they?
Cordon de Royat, Chablis, Vallée de la Marne, and Guyot (double and simple)
What is the average vine age in Champagne?
20 years
In 1992, the CIVC set a limit of 102 liters of must for every 160 kg of grapes, or 2,550 liters per 4,000 kg—a marc of grapes, the amount held in a traditional Coquard basket press. This restriction brings the final yield to (blank)
66 hl/ha.
What are the three main towns of Champagne?
Reims
Épernay
Aÿ
The 357 villages authorized to grow grapes for Champagne are split between five districts. What are they?
Montagne de Reims Vallée de la Marne Côte des Blancs Côte de Sézanne Côte des Bar in the Aube département.
Where is Pinot Noir dominate?
Montagne de Reims and the Aube
Where is Chardonnay dominant?
Cote de Sezanne
Where is majority of Pinot Meunier planted?
Meunier is heavily cultivated in the sheltered vineyards of the frost-prone Vallée de la Marne, where its tendency to bud late and ripen early is prized by growers.
How is Cru status awarded?
Cru status is awarded to entire villages in Champagne, rather than individual vineyards or properties.
How many villages are grand cru and premier cru?
17 villages have grand cru status
42 are classified as premier cru according to their rankings in the Échelle de Crus.
What is the CIVC?
the regulatory body responsible for mediating relations between growers and producers, oversees the production methods and promotion of Champagne.
The CIVC regulates the size of harvests, authorizes blocage and deblocage—respectively the reserve and release of wine stocks for use in future vintages—and safeguards the protected designation of Champagne.
What is the Échelle de Crus?
Until 1990, the CIVC set the price of grapes through the Échelle de Crus, a percentile system by which the villages, or crus, of the Champagne appellation are rated.
What is the Echelle de Crus rating system?
Villages that achieved the maximum échelle (“scale”) of 100 were classified as grands crus;
villages that achieved an échelle of 90 through 99 were classified as premier cru.
Mareuil-sur-Ay in the Vallée de la Marne and Tauxières in Montagne de Reims were the only premier cru villages with a 99% ranking.
Villages with a rating below 90 were simply crus. Originally, the Échelle de Crus was a true percentile system;
In the early 2000’s what was abolished?
Échelle de Crus
the CIVC abolished the system entirely, but the premier and grand cru villages retain their titles, and producers may continue to label wines from these villages as such.
What are the digits on every bottle of Champagne?
Every bottle of Champagne bears a series of digits—the matriculation number—a code assigned to each
producer by the CIVC. A set of initials precedes the number, denoting the type of producer who made the wine.