Champagne/Sparkling wines Flashcards
What are the AOPs of Champagne?
Champagne AOP
Coteaux Champenois AOP
Rosé des Riceys AOP
What are the Cru’s of Champagne?
Champagne Cru’s and Special Club
Champagne Grand Cru Villages (17)
Champagne Premier Cru Villages (43)
Champagne Special Club (29)
Varietals allowed in Champagne AOP
Encépagement: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbane, Petit Meslier
Minimum potential alcohol for Champagne AOP?
Minimum Potential Alcohol: 9%
Maximum residual sugar allowed for Champagne AOP?
Maximum Residual Sugar: 10 g/l
Tirage process of Champagne AOP
Tirage:
Secondary fermentation (prise de mousse) is accomplished in glass bottles
Tirage may not occur until at least January 1 of the year following the harvest
Volume of wine may not increase by more than 1.12% per 1% increase in alcohol during secondary fermentation
Wines may not be disgorged until at least 12 months after the date of tirage
Finished wines are marketed in the same bottle in which tirage occurred, except for bottle sizes with a volume smaller than 375 ml or larger than 3 liters. For NV bottlings, up to 20% of 375 ml bottles may also be transferred into new bottles.
Liqueur d’Expedition for Champagne AOP
Liqueur d’Expédition:
The addition of liqueur d’expédition may not lead to an increase in volume of wine (expressed in percentage) higher than the sum of the percentage increase in alcoholic strength (multiplied by a coefficient of 1.266) and the grams per liter increase in sugar content (multiplied by a coefficient of 0.0666). See the following formula:
Volume of Wine (%) = (1.266 × Alcohol Percent Increase) + (0.0666 × Sugar Increase)
Details on regulations for vintage dated Champagne
Vintage Dated Wines:
Max. 80% of a year’s harvest may be sold as vintage Champagne
Vintage-dated wines must contain 100% of a stated vintage (with the exception of wine and products contained in the liqueur de tirage or the liqueur d’expédition)
Elevage for NV Champagne wines?
NV wines: Min. 15 months from date of tirage
Elevage for vintage dated Champagne wines?
Vintage Wines: Min. 36 months from date of tirage
Permitted training methods for Champagne AOP?
Permitted Training Methods: Chablis, Cordon de Royat, Vallée de la Marne (allowed for Meunier only), Guyot (simple or double)
Minimum must weight levels for Champagne AOP
Minimum Must Weight: 143 g/l
Minimum planting density for Champagne AOP
Minimum Planting Density: max. 2.5 square meters per vine
Maximum press yield for Champagne AOP
Maximum Press Yield: 102 liters/160 kg (Additional pressed juice is rebêche, or the “end of pressing”, and must account for 0-10% of the total. This may only be used for distillation.)
Styles of wines allowed under Champagne AOP
Vin Mousseux Blanc
Vin Mousseux Rosé (either saignée or blending prior to tirage is authorized)
Brut Nature*
grams per liter?
0-3 grams per liter
Brut Nature wines may not contain any added dosage
0-3 grams per liter
What designation of Champagne would this be?
Brut Nature*
Brut Nature wines may not contain any added dosage
Extra Brut
grams per liter?
0-6 grams per liter
0-6 grams per liter
What designation of Champagne would this be?
Extra Brut
Brut
grams per liter?
0-12 grams per liter
0-12 grams per liter
What designation of Champagne would this be?
Brut
Extra Dry
grams per liter?
12-17 grams per liter
12-17 grams per liter
What designation of Champagne would this be?
Extra Dry
Demi-Sec
grams per liter?
32-50 grams per liter
32-50 grams per liter
What designation of Champagne would this be?
Demi-Sec
Doux
Grams per liter?
50+ grams per liter
50+ grams per liter
What designation of Champagne would this be?
Doux
Other names for Brut Nature
Equivalent terms include Non-Dosé, Brut Sauvage, Ultra Brut, Dosage Zéro, Sans Sucre, Pas Dosé.
Non-Dosé, Brut Sauvage, Ultra Brut, Dosage Zéro, Sans Sucre, and Pas Dosé are other terms used for what designation of Champagne?
Brut Nature
Grand Cru villages in Montagne de Reims
Sillery Puisieulx Beaumont-Sur-Vesle Verzenay Mailly-Champagne Verzy* Louvois Bouzy Ambonnay
How many Grand Cru Villages are there in Montagne de Reims?
9
Sillery Puisieulx Beaumont-Sur-Vesle Verzenay Mailly-Champagne Verzy* Louvois Bouzy Ambonnay
Grand Cru villages in Montagne de Reims
*There are 9 total
Grand Cru villages for Vallée de la Marne
Aÿ
Tours-sur-Marne (GC for red)
Aÿ
Tours-sur-Marne
Grand Cru Villages in Vallee de la Marne
Chouilly* Oiry* Cramant Avize Oger* Le Mesnil-sur-Oger*
Grand Cru Villages in Côte des Blancs
Grand Cru Villages in Cotes des Blanc
Chouilly* Oiry* Cramant Avize Oger* Le Mesnil-sur-Oger*
How many Grand Cru Villages are there in Cotes des Blanc?
6 total
General Rules for Membership of Special Club Champagne
Viticulture must occur on the estate (only RM producers may join)
Vinification and bottling must occur on the estate
Members must respect and uphold the Club’s charter
Other name for Special Club Champagne
Club Trésors de Champagne (Special Club)
Rules for “Special Club” Wines
The “Special Club” is the top-of-the-range, prestige cuvée for all members
The Club Trésors will declare a vintage as being worthy of “Special Club” prestige cuvées, then each member may decide individually whether or not to produce a “Special Club” wine
All base wines and finished “Special Club” wines must undergo tasting analysis
All “Special Club” bottles share an identical label and bottle shape
Styles of wines Coteaux Champenois AOP can release
Blanc
Rosé
Rouge
Varietals allowed under Coteaux Champenois AOP
Encépagement: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier, Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris
When was Coteaux Champenois established?
AOC Established: 1974 (last updated 2010)
Rosé des Riceys AOP is located in what department?
Aube
Communes of production for Rose des Riceys AOP.
Communes of Production: Les Riceys
Styles of wines produced from Rose des Riceys AOP?
Styles and Encépagement:
Rosé (tranquille): 100% Pinot Noir
What is the vinification requirement for Rose des Riceys?
Vinification Requirements: Grapes are vinified as whole bunches (semi-carbonic maceration)
Wines made in the fashion of Champagne but produced elsewhere may be labeled as what?
traditional method (méthode traditionnelle) or classic method (méthode classique)
Dom Pérignon’s lasting contributions to modern Champagne lie in what category?
In the techniques of assemblage (blending) and viticulture, despite the persistent myth that anoints him as the inventor of sparkling winemaking.
What producer was Dom Perignon a cellar master for?
Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668 until his death in 1715
In the 17th century, what struggles did the cellar masters in Champagne deal with?
The irrepressibly cold winters of the region created a danger: as the weather cooled off in the autumn and the yeasts became dormant, fermentation would sometimes prematurely stop, and the wines would be bottled with fermentable sugars still present. With the spring thaw and rising temperatures, yeasts would awaken inside the bottle, and refermentation occurred. The resulting sparkle was a fatal flaw, as the weak, wood-fired French glass of the past could not withstand the mounting gas pressure, and bottles would explode, often causing a chain reaction throughout the cellar.
Who were responsible for producing stronger glass for Champagne bottles?
In the late 17th century, 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—the merits of effervescence are praised in English literary works whose publication predates Pérignon’s tenure. Pérignon and his contemporaries endeavored to lessen the probability of refermentation, rather than encourage it.
Who is the oldest Champagne house to produce wine still in operation today?
Gosset, 1584
Who is the oldest Champagne house to produce sparkling wines?
Ruinart, established in 1729, can claim to be the oldest sparkling Champagne house
What did Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin accomplish?
Under her leadership, the house pioneered the process of remuage, or riddling
Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin’s nickname
Veuve (“widow”) Clicquot
remuage
or riddling—a procedure that allows sediment to be easily removed from a bottle during dégorgement (disgorgement).
Who was 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?
Jean-Antoine Chaptal
What was Jean-Antoine Chaptal and Andre Francois responsible for in Champagne’s history?
A fundamental understanding of the connection between sugar and the second fermentation, coupled with the 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.
Because the cost of making sparkling Champagne was so expensive early on, what were the smaller growers forced to do with their fruit?
They would sell fruit to the larger houses, which could manage the costs of both production and marketing.
Between 1800 to 1883, what kind of increase in production did the advancements in technology do to Champagne?
Champagne production jumped from 300,000 bottles in 1800 to 36 million by 1883.
Who released the first brut Champagne on the market and when?
Pommery put the first brut Champagne, Pommery “Nature,” on the market in 1874.
Commission de Châlons
A consortium of growers and merchants, was formed in 1935 to develop quality standards and regulate pricing
What is the only region that does not need to list its Appellation Controlee (or Protegee) on the label?
Champagne remains the only AOC/AOP that does not need to include Appellation Contrôlée (or Protégée) on the label.
When did phylloxera hit Champagne?
1890
CIVC
Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne
An organization that has a powerful force in the complex mediation between the large Champagne houses and the numerous smaller growers from whom they source grapes.
Comite Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC)
tête de cuvée
prestige cuvée—a premier bottling often carrying a vintage date.
What parallel is Champagne situated on?
48th
bouvreux
or second crop, that rarely ripens and is left on the vine.
What type of soil is found Champagne and how does that affect the vine?
Porous, 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.
Belemnite chalk
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.
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.
Belemnite chalk
Soil type in Aube
Aube to the south clay is the dominant soil type.
Why would there be trash littered throughout Champagne?
Remnants of bags used to ship composted trash. 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.
The 357 villages authorized to grow grapes for Champagne are split between five districts, what are those 5 distracts?
Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Côte des Bars (the Aube).
________ is the prominent grape in both Montagne de Reims and the Aube
Pinot Noir is the prominent grape in both Montagne de Reims and the Aube
________ is dominant in the Côte de Sézanne and almost exclusively planted, as its name indicates, on the southeast- and east-facing slopes of the Côte des Blancs.
Chardonnay is dominant in the Côte de Sézanne and almost exclusively planted, as its name indicates, on the southeast- and east-facing slopes of the Côte des Blancs.
_______ 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.
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 are the vineyards in Montagne de Reims positioned and why?
The vineyards of the Montagne de Reims are, surprisingly, divided between south- and north-facing slopes. The plain beneath the northern Montagne de Reims is too cold for viticulture, but the higher slopes of the region’s plateau enjoy a pocket of warm air that allows the grapes to ripen.
How is cru status in Champagne different than other wine regions in France?
Cru status is awarded to entire villages in Champagne, rather than individual vineyards or properties. However, the areas authorized for cultivation within each commune are strictly defined.
How many villages are awarded both grand cru and premier cru status in Champagne?
17 villages have grand cru status and 42 are classified as premier cru according to their rankings in the Échelle de Crus.
How did the Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne’s (CIVC) echelle (scale) work when grading villages for grand cru and premier cru status?
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. Also, villages with a rating below 90 were simply crus. Originally, the Échelle de Crus was a true percentile system; in 1985 a revision set the minimum rating of the scale at 80.
NM
Négociant Manipulant
A house that purchases grapes and or base wines from growers and other smaller houses.
Négociant Manipulant (NM)
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: Moët et Chandon, Louis Roederer, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Billecart-Salmon, Lanson, Taittinger, Pol Roger, Perrier-Jouët, Mumm, and Laurent-Perrier. Quality varies widely, although prices are uniformly high. Many houses often fall under the same corporate parentage; for example, Moët et Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, and Mercier fall under the umbrella of the luxury conglomerate LVMH.
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.
Récoltant Manipulant (RM)
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.
Coopérative Manipulant (CM)
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.
Récoltant Coopérateur (RC)
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.
Societe de Recoltants (SR)
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.
Négociant Distributeur (ND)
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.
Marque d’Acheteur (MA)
A buyer’s own brand, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.
A house that purchases grapes and or base wines from growers and other smaller houses.
What type of Champagne producer is this?
NM (Négociant Manipulant)
A grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate-grown fruit. 95% of the grapes must originate in the producer’s own vineyards.
What type of Champagne producer is this?
RM (Récoltant Manipulant)
A growers’ co-operative that produces the wine under a single brand.
What type of Champagne producer is this?
CM (Coopérative Manipulant)
A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.
What type of Champagne producer is this?
RC (Récoltant Coopérateur)
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 type of Champagne producer is this?
SR (Société de Récoltants)
A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make.
What type of Champagne producer is this?
ND (Négociant Distributeur)
A buyer’s own brand, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.
What type of Champagne producer is this?
MA (Marque d’Acheteur)
When pressing grapes for Champagne, extraction is limited to _____ liters from ____ kg of grapes, or ____ liters from _____ kg.
When pressing grapes for Champagne, extraction is limited to 102 liters from 160 kg of grapes, or 2,550 liters from 4,000 kg.
The _____ is usually richer in pigment and tannin, and many producers sell off this lesser component of the must or include it in a minor proportion as a structural element in a blend.
The vin de taille is usually richer in pigment and tannin, and many producers sell off this lesser component of the must or include it in a minor proportion as a structural element in a blend.
vin de taille
The vin de taille is usually richer in pigment and tannin, and many producers sell off this lesser component of the must or include it in a minor proportion as a structural element in a blend.
What is “rebeche”
A third extraction, the rebêche, is required by law and must comprise 1-10% of the total. The rebêche is used for distillate, not Champagne.
After pressing the juice for Champagne, describe the settling process for the vin de cuvée (the first 2,050 liters).
After pressing, the juice is allowed to settle (débourbage) at a cool temperature for eight to fifteen hours, so that remaining solids (bourbes) in the must can be removed by racking prior to fermentation.
Describe the primary fermentation process in Champagne.
The must, which is often chaptalized, will then undergo primary fermentation, resulting in high-acid base wines (vins clairs) with an approximate alcohol content of 11%. Primary fermentation may occur in either stainless steel or oak—typically used barrels, although some producers do use a percentage of new wood.
prise de mousse
The second fermentation, or prise de mousse, is the heart of the méthode Champenoise.
bidule
a plastic capsule that will serve to capture the sediment during remuage.
Describe the secondary fermentation in Champagne.
Each bottle is affixed with a crown cap (equipped with a bidule, a plastic capsule that will serve to capture the sediment during remuage) or a cork after the liqueur de tirage is added, and yeast begins its work. The secondary fermentation lasts up to eight weeks, as the yeast slowly converts the additional sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide.
How much alcohol and pressure is created during secondary fermentation in Champagne?
The alcohol content of the wine rises approximately 1.2-1.3%, and the carbon dioxide creates a pressure inside the bottle of five to six atmospheres.
How are bottles stored during secondary fermentation in
The bottles are usually stored horizontally (“sur latte”).
Removing the lees from Champagne is known as process?
dégorgement
Historically, producers performed an operation called _______, in which each bottle would be briskly shaken in order to prevent the sediment from sticking to the sides of the bottle.
Historically, producers performed an operation called pointage, in which each bottle would be briskly shaken in order to prevent the sediment from sticking to the sides of the bottle.
Why isn’t pointage still performed in Champagne?
Newer strains of yeast generally preclude the need for pointage, and most houses have abandoned the practice.
Two large wooden planks fastened together in an upright “A” shape, with sixty angled holes cut into each plank of wood.
What is this tool called?
pupitre
Who is responsible for creating the pupitre?
widow Clicquot
What is remuer’s responsibility?
A remuer would fractionally turn and tilt each bottle over a period of about eight weeks, slowly inverting the bottles with the neck pointing downward.
Is the gyropalette used in Champagne?
Yes. The modern remuage operation is shortened to a week or less through the use of a Spanish invention, the gyropalette, an automated device that holds 504 bottles. The gyropalette has replaced hand-riddling at all of the major houses, although some prestige cuvée bottlings are still handled manually.
What makes Bollinger’s “RD” (“Récemment Dégorgé”) so special?
It is kept sur pointe (upside-down vertical position with the wine still resting on its lees) for a number of years, and only disgorged upon order.
Describe the Champagne process “dégorgement à la glace”
This involves dipping the neck of bottle in a freezing brine solution. The bottle can then be turned upright. The force of internal pressure will expel the semi-frozen sediment (and a small portion of wine) as the crown cap is removed.
After the degorgement process, explain the dosage method in making Champagne.
As the wines are fully fermented to total dryness, the bottles are then topped off with dosage, or liqueur d’expédition, a liquid mixture of sugar syrup and wine.
Other name for dosage
liqueur d’expedition
Brut Nature/Non-Dosé ____ grams per liter
Extra Brut _____ grams per liter
Brut _____ grams per liter
Extra Dry _____ grams per liter
Sec _____ grams per liter
Demi-Sec _____ grams per liter
Doux _____ grams per liter
Brut Nature/Non-Dosé 0-3 grams per liter 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
muselet
wire-cage used in packaging Champagne bottles.
Quarter Bottle (Piccolo)
187 ml
187 ml
Quarter Bottle (Piccolo)
Half Bottle (Demi)
375 ml
375 ml
Half Bottle (Demi)
Jeroboam
3 L (4 bottles)
3 L (4 bottles)
Jeroboam
Rehoboam (discontinued in 1989)
4.5 L (6 bottles)
4.5 L (6 bottles)
Rehoboam (discontinued in 1989)
Methuselah
6 L (8 bottles)
6 L (8 bottles)
Methuselah
Salmanazar
9 L (12 bottles)
9 L (12 bottles)
Salmanazar
Balthazar
12 L (16 bottles)
12 L (16 bottles)
Balthazar
15 L (20 bottles)
Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar
15 L (20 bottles)
Solomon
18 L (24 bottles)
18 L (24 bottles)
Solomon
Sovereign and Primat
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.
List bottle sizes in order
Quarter Bottle (Piccolo) Half Bottle (Demi) 375 ml 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
NV
Non-Vintage (NV): Generally brut in style, the NV cuvée represents a house’s signature style, and the blender’s job is to ensure its consistency from year to year. Non-vintage Champagne makes up at least three-quarters of the market.
Details on vintage Champagne
Vintage: 100% of the blend must come from the stated vintage, yet a 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, and good examples can age for a decade or more.
Describe Blanc de Blancs
Blanc de Blancs: 100% Chardonnay is required, but it is not always sourced from the Côte des Blancs. They may be vintage-dated or NV. The Blanc de Blancs category represents some of Champagne’s most ageworthy bottlings; while austere and often steely in youth, better examples develop an intense bouquet with maturity.
Blanc de Noirs
Blanc de Noirs: White wine produced solely from black grapes. The wine usually displays richness, intensity, and weight, although it can lack the supreme elegance and finesse of Blanc de Blancs.
Prestige Cuvée (Tête de Cuvée)
Usually the finest and most expensive bottling that a house offers, the prestige cuvée is typically (but not always) vintage-dated and aged for a number of years prior to release. Prestige Cuvées are usually only released in superior vintages, and may undergo more traditional vinification procedures, such as barrel fermentation, riddling by hand, and cork-finishing during the second fermentation.
“Dom Pérignon”
Producer?
Moët et Chandon
Tete de Cuvee for Moet et Chandon
Dom Perignon
“Comtes de Champagne”
Producer?
Taittinger
Tete de Cuvee for Taittinger
Comtes de Champagne
“Cristal”
Producer?
Louis Roederer
“Grande Siècle”
Producer?
Laurent-Perrier
“Belle Époque” (bottled as “Fleur de Champagne” for the US market)
Producer?
Perrier-Jouët
Tete de Cuvee for Louis Roederer
Cristal
Tete de Cuvee for Laurent-Perrier
Grande Siecle
Tete de Cuvee for Perrier Jouet
“Belle Époque” (bottled as “Fleur de Champagne” for the US market)
“Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill”
Producer?
Pol Roger
Tete de Cuvee for Pol Roger
Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill
“Dom Ruinart”
Producer?
Ruinart
“La Grande Dame”
Producer?
Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin
Tete de Cuvee for Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin
La Grande Dame
Tete de Cuvee for Ruinart
Dom Ruinart
Single Vineyard Champagne
Single Vineyard Champagne bottlings may be produced by a large house or a smaller grower-producer, and may or may not be advertised as a prestige cuvée. 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.
Special Club Prestige Cuvée
The “Special Club” concept originated in 1971, with a dozen grower-producers. Lacking the marketing budgets of larger houses, these producers banded together to promote their prestige cuvées through identical packaging. Today, the Club Trésors comprises over two-dozen RM producers as members. The Special Club bottlings are estate-bottled, vintage-dated wines that represent the pinnacle of each individual grower’s style and production. Special Club bottles and labels share identical design. Current members include Marc Hébrart, Pierre Gimmonet, Paul Bara, J. Lassalle and Gaston Chiquet.
Rosé Champagne
Rosé Champagne: Vintage, NV, and prestige cuvées may also be produced in pink versions. The traditional saignée method, in which the wine gains its hue through extended skin contact, is less common than blending. Champagne is the only AOP in France that allows a rosé to be produced by blending red and white wine. A rosé prestige cuvée, a novelty in years past, is usually the most expensive and rare product a house offers.
What is the only AOP in France that allows a rose to be produced by blending red and white wine.
Champagne
What are the still wine appellations in the Champagne region?
Coteaux Champenois and Rosé de Riceys
How many AOP regions for crémant wines are produced by the traditional method?
7 Crémant de Bordeaux, Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Loire, Crémant de Limoux, Crémant de Die, Crémant du Jura, Crémant d’Alsace.
Blanquette de Limoux AOP
Blanquette de Limoux AOP wines from the Languedoc region are also produced by the traditional method, from a minimum 90% Mauzac, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc.
Name the two best examples of sparkling wine done in the tradional method found in Italy?
In Italy, the best traditional method sparkling wines are produced in Lombardy, within the DOCGs of Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico.
All Spanish Cava and the highest quality German Sekt are produced by the _________ method.
All Spanish Cava and the highest quality German Sekt are produced by the traditional method.
Méthode Ancestrale
this is the oldest and most rudimentary of sparkling winemaking procedures. A single fermentation begins in tank, but the wine is transferred to bottles before the process is complete—liqueur de tirage is unnecessary. Yeasts continue to ferment the remaining sugars in the bottle, giving the wine its sparkle. The residual sweetness of the finished wines varies by appellation, but dosage is not allowed. Typically, the wine is disgorged, filtered and rebottled in clean glass prior to sale.
Other name for Methode Ancestrale
méthode rurale
Bugey Cerdon, Clairette de Die Méthode Dioise, and Gaillac Mousseux Méthode Gaillaçoise are examples of the style sparkling wine. What is it?
Methode Ancestrale
Other terms used for the Charmat Process
Cuve Close or Tank Method
Who developed the Charmat method?
Eugene Charmat in the early 20th century
Describe the Charmat method
The Charmat Method is quicker, cheaper, and less labor-intensive than the traditional method. After the wine undergoes primary fermentation, liqueur de tirage is added to the wine, provoking a second fermentation, which occurs in a pressurized enamel-lined tank, or autoclave, over a matter of days. Once the appropriate pressure is reached (usually 5 atmospheres), the wine is chilled to arrest fermentation. Some appellations require the wine to remain in tank for a minimum period of time, such as one month for Asti DOCG. The wine is then filtered and bottled, usually with a dosage. The lack of extended lees contact in the tank method is not suitable for making quality wines in the style of Champagne.
What are bubbles like in wines made in the Charmat method?
The bubbles, or bead, in tank method wines will be larger and coarser, and the wine will have a less uniform texture than wines made by the traditional method.
“This method is appropriate and even preferred for sparkling wines emphasizing fruit and varietal aromatics rather than the flavors derived from autolysis. Most Asti DOCG and Prosecco bottlings are produced in this method.”
What method of sparkling wine making are they referring to?
Charmat method (aka “Tank method”)
Continuous Method/Russian Continuous Method
Developed in the USSR, this method is similar to the tank method, but the base wine is pumped through a series of interconnected (continuous) tanks while undergoing the second fermentation. Liqueur de tirage is constantly added to the wine, and lees accumulate in the first several tanks, offering a 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.
Carbonation method of sparkling wine making.
Carbonation: The cheapest method of sparkling winemaking involves a simple injection of carbon dioxide into still wine. The bubbles do not integrate into the texture of the wine at all, and fade quickly upon opening. This method is not used for quality wines.
