Champagne & Sparkling Wine_revised-Apr-2013 Flashcards
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Oldest Champagne house still in operation
Gosset, est. 1584, started with still wine
Ruinart, est. 1729, sparkling
Vin de cuvée
Higher quality juice from initial pressing
Vin de taille
Lesser quality juice from end of pressing
Remuage
Process AKA riddling that allows sediment to be easily removed from a bottle during disgorgement
Pioneered by Mdm. Ponsardin (Veuve Cliquot)
Jean-Antoine Chaptal
Chemist who identified the relationship between sugar and fermentation for whom the process of chaptalization is named
First “brut” Champagne
Pompey Nature
Champagne AOP Départements
5 Aube Aisne Marne Haute-Marne Seine-et-Marne
1914 in Champagne
Epic vintage delivered despite constant bombardment, lack of manpower, horses, etc. due to WWI
Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne
AKA CIVC
consortium of growers, producers and shippers organized to protect the interests of Champagne during Nazi occupation
Now serves as powerful force in mediation between large houses and growers
1921 in Champagne
Inaugural vintage of Dom Pérignon from Moët et Chandon
2009 changes in Champagne
Number of villages that can grow grapes for Champagne AOP increased from 319 to 357
Won’t likely effect sales until 2021
Sweetness levels changed to eliminate overlapping in ranges of RS, margin of error allowed at +/-3g/L
Belemnite chalk
fossilized remains of of cephalopods
high limestone content
found on slopes
Rebêche
End of pressing
Juice pressed after maximum yield of 102 L has been met
May only be used for distillation and account for 0-10% of total
Bouvreux
Second crop of fruit caused when rain interrupts flowering in colder climates like Champagne.
Rarely ripens, generally left in vine.
Soil in Champagne
Chalk subsoil with clay & sand on top
Types of chalk: Belemnite & Micraster
Marc (of grapes)
4000kg, the amount held in a traditional Coquard basket press
Pressing limits of Champagne
102 liters of must for every 160kg of grapes
2,550 liters of must for every 4,000kg (marc)
Districts of Champagne including dominant grape variety
Montagne de Reims - Pinot Noir Vallée de la Marne - Pinot Meunier Côte des Blancs - Chardonnay Côte de Sézanne - Chardonnay Côte de Bars (the Aube) - Pinot Noir
Échelle de Cru
Ranking of villages in Champagne-entire village, not specific vineyards- according to a percentile system.
17 Grand Cru villages (100 points)
44 Premier Cru villages (90-99 points)
Formerly, points corresponded to percentage of price a grower could receive for fruit. Since 1990, the CIVC just recommends and oversees for fairness.
Grand Cru Villages of Montagne de Reims
9 Sillery Puiseulx Beaumont-sur-Vesle Verzenay Mailly Verzy Louvois Bouzy Ambonnay
Matriculation number
Code assigned to each producer by CIVC always preceded by initials denoting type of producer
Types of Champagne producers
7 NM (Négociant Manipulant) RM (Récoltant Manipulant) CM (Coopérative Manipulant) RC (Récoltant Coopérateur) SR (Société de Récoltants) ND (Négociant Distributeur) MA (Marque d'Acheteur)
LVMH
Luxury conglomerate that owns Moët et Chandon, Krug, Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin, Mercier, Ruinart, Château d’Yquem, Hennessy, Glenmorangie, Belvedere, Dom. Chandon (Australia & California), Bodegas Chandon, Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle, Newton, Terrazas de los Andes, Cheval des Andes, 10 Cane Rum, Wenjun, Numanthia
Blocage & Deblocage
Reserve and release of wine stocks for future use regulated by CIVC
How is pressed juice of Champagne grapes divided?
Vin de Cuvée: first 2,050 liters, best
Vin de Taille: following 500 liters, richer I pigment & tannin, sold off or used to add structure
Rebêche: required by law, must comprise 1-10% of total volume, used for distillate
Débourage
The settling of fresh pressed juice of Champagne grapes at cool temperatures for 8-15 hours
Vins clairs
High-acid base wines of Champagne
Around 11% abv after primary fermentation in stainless, old or new oak
Most undergo malolactic fermentation, fining and filtering
Vins clairs rest until late-February or early March prior to assemblage
Assemblage
Process by which a house blender tastes and lends the base wines from the current vintage with reserve wines to achieve the house style.
Immediately after assemblage, wine is cold stabilized, racked and bottled with addition of liqueur de tirage
Sweetness Levels of Champagne pre-2010
Extra Brut, 0-6 grams per liter Brut, 0-15 grams per liter Extra Dry, 12-20 grams per liter Sec, 17-35 grams per liter Demi-Sec, 33-50 grams per liter Doux, 50+ grams per liter
Methods of dégorgement
2
À la volée
À la glace
Piccolo
187 ml
1/4 bottle
Champagne Bottle Sizes
Piccolo - 187 ml (1/4 bottle) Demi - 375 ml (1/2 bottle) Bottle - 750 ml Magnum - 1.5 L (2 bottles) Jeroboam - 3 L (4 bottles) Rehoboam (discontinued in 1989) - 4.5 L (6 bottles) Methuselah - 6 L (8 bottles) Salmanazar - 9 L (12 bottles) Balthazar - 12 L (16 bottles) Nebuchadnezzar - 15 L (20 bottles) Solomon - 18 L (24 bottles) Premat - 27 L (36 bottles)
Transvasage
Transfer method permitted for bottle sizes smaller than 1/2-bottle and larger than Jeroboam
No remuage, disgorged into pressurized tank, dosage added, transferred to bottle under pressure
Melchior
Bordelaise term for the 18 L bottle, equivalent to the Solomon in Champagne
Non-Vintage (NV)
Generally brut in style
cuvée represents a house’s signature style
consistent from year to year
makes up at least three-quarters of the market
minimum 15 months on lees before disgorgement
Vintage Champagne
100% of the blend must come from the stated vintage
maximum 80% of a year’s harvest may be sold as vintage
better houses declare a vintage only in exceptional years
usually brut in style
minimum 36 months on lees before disgorgement from date of tirage.
Blanc de Blancs
100% Chardonnay is required
may be vintage-dated or NV
most ageworthy bottlings
Blanc de Noirs
White wine produced solely from black grapes
May be saignée or blended prior to tirage
Prestige Cuvée (Tête de Cuvée)
finest and most expensive bottling that a house offers
typically (but not always) vintage-dated
aged for a number of years prior to release
usually only released in superior vintages
may undergo more traditional vinification procedures (barrel fermentation, riddling by hand, and cork-finishing during the second fermentation)
often from estate-owned vineyards—single vineyards in exceptional cases
may be Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs or rosé in style
Not all houses produce a prestige cuvée, and some produce several.
Single Vineyard Champagne
may or may not be advertised as a prestige cuvée
not required to carry a vintage date (almost always do)
style represents a stark departure from the blending philosophy of the region
Club Trésors de Champagne
“Special Club” est. 1971
only RM producers may join
estate grown and produced wines only
Rosé Champagne
Vintage, NV, and prestige cuvées permitted
traditional saignée method permitted, but less common than blending
Premier Cru Villages of Montagne de Reims
26 total
Top villages: Tauxières (99%) Billy-Le-Grand Trépail Vaudemange Villers-Marmery Chigny-les-Roses Ludes Montbré Rilly-la-Montagne Taissy Trois-Puits
Premier Cru Villages of Vallée de la Marne
8 Mareuil-sur-Aÿ (99%) Bisseuil Dizy Champillon Cumières Hautvillers Mutigny Tours-sur-Marne (GC for red)
Premier Cru Villages of Côte des Blancs
10 Bergères-lès-Vertus Chouilly (GC for white) Cuis Étréchy Grauves Pierry Val-des-Marais Vertus Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny Voipreux
Coteaux Champenois allowable varieties
7 Chardonnay Pinot Noir Meunier Arbane Petit Meslier Pinot Blanc Pinot Gris
Prestiges Cuvées of CM Producers
Nicolas Feuillatte “Palmes d’Or”
Mailly Grand Cru “Les Échansons”
Mailly “L’Intemporelle”
Coteaux Champenois
AOP for dry still wine covering area of Champagne AOP for
Blanc, Rosé & Rouge
Rosé des Riceys
AOP in the Aube Département
Rosé from 100% Pinot Noir
Semi-carbonic maceration
Bergères
Sole Premier Cru village of Côte de Bar (Aube)
Méthode Ancestrale
AKA: méthode rurale
Oldest and most rudimentary of sparkling winemaking procedures.
single fermentation begins in tank
wine is transferred to bottles before the process is complete
NO liqueur de tirage is necessary
Yeasts continue to ferment the remaining sugars in the bottle, giving the wine its sparkle
RS of the finished wines varies by appellation
dosage is NOT allowed
disgorged, filtered, rebottled in clean glass prior to sale
The Charmat Process
AKA: Cuve Close/Tank Method
Developed by Eugene Charmat in the early 20th century
quicker, cheaper, and less labor-intensive than the traditional method
second fermentation occurs in a pressurized enamel-lined tank
wine is chilled to arrest fermentation
filtered and bottled, usually with a dosage
Continuous Method
AKA Russian Continuous Method
similar to the tank method
base wine is pumped through a series of interconnected (continuous) tanks while undergoing the second fermentation
lees accumulate in the first several tanks so higher degree of autolyzed flavors than the standard tank method. The majority of German Sekt is produced by either the tank method or the continuous method.
Still wine appellations of Champagne
Coteaux Champenois AOP
Rosé de Riceys AOP
Pressing limits on Crémant
100 L from 150 kg
2,666 L from 4,000 kg
Méthode Traditionnelle wines from France
not Champagne
7 AOPs for Crémant: Crémant... ...de Bordeaux ...de Bourgogne ...de Loire ...de Limoux ...de Die ...du Jura ...d'Alsace
Also: Vouvray, Montlouis-sur-Loire, Saumur, Vin de Savoie, Seyssel, Blanquette de Limoux
Pétillant
Labeling term for lightly sparkling wines, mousseux is for fully sparkling
Poignetage
AKA pointage
Process of shaking Champagne bottles during lees aging to prevent sediment from sticking to glass
No longer needed due to yeast strains that do not adhere
Pruning types in Champagne
Guyot (simple & double)
Chablis
Cordon de Royat
What is the only AOP that does not need to include Appellation Contrôlée/Protégée on label?
Champagne AOP
Champagne AOP Grapes
7 Pinot Noir Chardonnay Meunier Pinot Blanc Pinot Gris Arbane Petit Meslier
Champagne AOP Styles
Vin Mousseux Blanc
Vin Mousseux Rosé (saignée or blending before tirage)
Champagne AOP numbers
Min. Potential Alc.: 9%
Max. RS: 10 g/L
Disgorgement: min. 12 months after date of tirage
Champagne AOP with vintage
max. 80% of vintage may be bottled with date
100% of stated vintage required (except liqueur de tirage & liqueur d’expédition)
Min. 36 months élevage from date of tirage
Champagne AOP elevage
NV: min. 15 months élevage from date of tirage
Vintage: Min. 36 months élevage from date of tirage
Encépagement
blend
Liqueur de tirage
“bottling liquor”
mixture of still Champagne, sugar, yeast, yeast nutrients and clarifying agent to ignite the second fermentation
Élevage
aging
Liqueur d’expédition
dosage used to top up bottles after disgorgement, may contain sugar up to desired level of sweetness
Tirage
time during which Champagne undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle to gain effervescence
Saignée
“bled”
results in a rose wine by bleeding off a certain amount of free-run juice from just-crushed and briefly macerated red grapes
Micraster chalk
named for sea urchin
found on valley floors
Grand Cru Villages of Vallée de la Marne
2
Aÿ
Tours-sur-Marne (red only)
Grand Cru Villages of Côte des Blancs
6 Chouilly (white only) Oiry Cramant Avize Oger Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Grand Cru Villages of Côte de Sézanne
none
Grand Cru Villages of Côte des Bars
none
Prise de mousse
second fermentation for formation of bubbles in sparkling wine production
SR on a Champagne label
Société de Récoltants
firm, not co-operative, of growers who share resources to collectively make and market several brands
NM on a Champagne label
Négociant Manipulant
house that purchases grapes or base wines from growers and smaller houses, most large houses in this category
RM on a Champagne label
Récoltant Manipulant
grower-producer
CM on a Champagne label
Coopérative Manipulant
growers’ co-operative that produce single brand