CHAMPAGNE & SPARKLING WINES Flashcards
What is the climate of Champagne?
Cool-Continental
What is the soil of Champagne?
Chalk and Limestone
What are the main grapes of Champagne?
Chardonnay
Pinot Noir
Meunier
What are the secondary grapes of Champagne?
Arbanne
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Gris
Petit Meslier
What are the 5 areas/sub-districts of Champagne?
1) Montagne de Reims
2) Vallée de la Marne
3) Côte des Blancs
4) Côte des Sezanne
5) Côte des Bar (Aube)
What rivers flows through Champagne?
- Vesle (North)
- Marne (Vallée de la Marne)
What are the styles of Champagne?
- Blanc de Blancs
- Blanc de Noirs
- Rosé
- Cuvée de Prestige
What are some examples of wines made in the style of Méthode Champenoise?
- Champagne
- Crémant
- Cava
- Franciacorta
What are the two main parts of pressing in Champagne?
- Vin de Cuvée (first pressing -2,050L/2,550L)
- Premiere Taille/Vin de Taille (final-500L/2,050L)
What does La méthode champenoise stands for?
- This terminology is only permitted to be applied to CHAMPAGNE production.
- A method of producing sparkling wine by including a secondary fermentation to take place in the bottle.
What are the two blend styles of each champagne house?
1) Non-Vintage=
2) Vintage=
What does an standard press holds in Champagne?
4,000Kg
This is a mixture of liquid sugar, yeast, a little tannin and finings. it produces a second fermentation in the bottle.
Liqueur de Tirage
What does Autolysis means?
Breakdown of the yeasts, adds complexity and flavour to the wine during the secondary fermentation.
What is the term for storing bottles on their sides (horizontally) and left to mature on the sediment for a min. 15 months.
Sur Latte
What is the Prestige Cuvée of Krug?
Grande Cuvée (multi-vintage)
What is the movement of all sediment of dead yeast cells caused by the second fermentation in to the plastic cup under the crown top, ready for removal called?
Remuage
What is a Pupitre?
A framed racks used for riddling/remuage.
*pioneered by Veuve Cliquot-Pohsardin
What are the two methods used for dégorgement?
1) The traditional á la volée
2) Modern method-à la glace
What is a Dégorgement stands for?
The removal of closure while turning the bottle upwards, allowing the sediment and a small amount of wine to be forced out by the gas pressure.
What are the requirements for a NON-VINTAGE champagne?
- This is the blend and is the hallmark or style of each champagne house.
- Contains an average of 40-50 wines from as many as ten different years(reserve wines).
- aging requirement: min. 15 months on the lees from the date of tirage.
What are the requirements for a VINTAGE champagne?
-It’s made almost totally from a blend of just 1 year, although a quantity of wine from other years is permitted in vintage champagne if it’s requieres to achieve the balance.
What is the purpose of L’ECHELLE-DES-CRUS?
It’s the vineyard rating system where champagne villages are graded from 100% down to 80%.
- GRANDS CRUS(17)= 100%
- PREMIERES CRUS(44)= 90-99%
- VILLAGE CRUS= 80-89%
Name the only two still wine appellations in Champagne?
1) Coteaux Champenois (grape varieties as for champagne AOC)
2) Rosé de Riceys (100% Pinot Noir)
This process is the addition of a measured amount of sweetened wine that determines the style of the wine.
Dosage
What is the Residual Sugar for Brut Nature?
0-3g/L
What is the Residual Sugar of Extra Dry?
12-17g/L
What is the Residual Sugar of Extra Brut?
0-6g/L
What is the Residual Sugar of Brut?
0-12g/L
What is the Residual Sugar of Sec (medium)?
17-32g/L
What is the Residual Sugar of Doux (very sweet)
50+g/L
What is the Residual Sugar of Demi-Sec?
32-50g/L
How many Litres is a Methuselah? Bottles?
6L
8Bottles
How many Litres is a Jeroboam? Bottles?
3L
4Bottles
How many litres is a Solomon?
Bottles?
18L
24Bottles
How many Litres is a Primat?
Bottles?
27L
36Bottles
Dom Pérignon was a cellar-master from 1670-1715 in which abbey?
Abbey at Hautvillers
What is the Cuvée de Prestige of Möet & Chandon?
Dom Pérignon
This is a Vin de Liqueur made by the addition of a neutral spirit (Marc de Champagne) to unfermented grape juice.
Ratafia de Champagne
What is the Cuvée de Prestige of Bollinger?
Grand Année
What is the Cuvée de Prestige of Billercat-Salmon?
Grand Cuvée and Cuvée Elizabeth Salmon Rosé
This is a Brandy produced from the distillation of the skins, pips and stalks (the marc) left after the pressing of the grapes.
Marc de Champagne- distilled by one company, and is then oak matured and sold by most of the top champagne houses.
Wht is the Cuvée de Prestige of Laurant-Perrier?
Grand Siècle La Cuvée
These are appelation Contrôlée, dry sparkling wines produces in areas of France other than Champagne, made by la méthode traditionnelle.
“Crémant”
Aude Crémant de Limoux Crémant de Loire Crémant de Alsace Crémant de Die (Rhone) Crémant de Bourgogne
What is the Cuvée de Prestige of Vilmart?
Coeur de Cuvée
What is the Cuvée de Prestige of Taittinger?
- Comtes de Champagne
- Taittinger Prélude
This is a system of putting wine in reserve in good years and plentiful years for use in poor years, when the harvest is short or large increase in sales.
The release of the kept wines in bulk in stainless steel vats and can only be released with the consent of the CIVC is called?
“Blocage”
“Deblocage”
Name the Cuvée de Prestige of each Champagne houses:
- Duval-Leroy
- G.H. Mumm
- Philipponat
- Veuve Clicquot
- Perrire-Jouet Rosé
Duval-Leroy -- Femme de Champagne G.H. Mumm-- Cuvée R Lalou Philipponat-- Clos de Goisses Veuve Clicquot-- La Grande Dame Perrire-Jouet Rosé-- Fleur de Champagne
What is the maximum yield and min. alcohol of Champagne AOC?
- 10,400Kg/Ha
- 9% min. ABV (base wine)
What is the min. must weight and maximum RS of Champagne AOC?
- 143g/L must weight
- 10g/L RS (base wine)
What are the four methods of pruning in Champagne?
1) Single(Simple) & Double Guyot
2) Chablis
3) Cordon de Royat
4) Vallée de la Marne
This Method is the quickest and the cheapest of producing a sparkling wine, also the poorest interms of quality.
The wine is chilled in large tanks and CO2 is pumped into it and the wine then is bottled under pressure.
“CARBONATION” AKA
Gas Injection
Industrial Method
This Method of producing sparkling wine is by bottling the wine before it has finished fermenting. The wine continues to ferment producing CO2. Before all the sugar in the wine can be used up by the yeast, the wine bottled without Dósage but remains sweet due to natural sugar still in the wine and generally slightly cloudy.
“Méthode Ancestrale” AKA Pet-nat
This Method of producing sparkling wine, the secondary fermentation and degorgement is carried out in the bottle as for Champagne, but the wine is chilled and placed in a tank. Dósage is then added and it is filtered and rebottled under pressure.
“Transversage Method”
What is the quantity limit of must permitted to be extracted from the grapes of 4000Kg&157Kg in Champagne?
4000Kg=2550L
157Kg=100L
This is a Method of producing sparkling wine that have been produced by the bulk or Tank Method. Still wine is pumped into large tanks together with a measured quantity of sugar and yeast. The temperature is controlled to aid the secondary and the wine circulates in the closed tanks by propellers. Filtered and bottled without aging.
“Cuve Close or Charmat Process”
E.g. Prosseco, Muscato D’Asti, Lambrusco
What does CIVC stands for?
Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne (1994)
- It’s the governing body of Champagne, enforces all the AOC regulations.
- Promotes wines and regulates size of the harvest each year.
What are the Grands Crus of Montagne de Reims?
1) Sillery
2) Puisieulx
3) Beaumont-Sur-Vesle
4) Verzenay
5) Mailly Champagne
6) Verzy
7) Louvois
8) Bouzy
9) Ambonnay
What are the Grands Crus of Vallée de La Marne?
1) Äy
2) Tours-Sur-Marne
What are the Grands Crus of Côtes de Blancs?
1) Chouilly (GC for whites)
2) Oiry
3) Cramant
4) Avize
5) Oger
6) Le-Mesnil-Sur-Oger
What is the minimum ageing for a VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE?
36 months on the lees
What is the name of the style of sparkling wine that has a residual sugar level of 0-3 grams per liter / no added Dosage?
Brut Nature
What are some common Champagne aromas?
Apple Toast Citrus Yeast(sourdough,brioche) Walnuts/hazelnuts
What is special about Champagne labelling?
They are the only appellation that is not required to state AOP/AOC on the label
What was the first vintage of Dom Perignon?
1921
What is assemblage?
Process of blending done by the cellar master to make a house blend
What does NM mean on a Champagne label?
“Negoicant Manipulant”
- a house that purchases grapes or base wine. They may also own their own vineyards
What does RM mean in a bottle of champagne?
“Recoltant Manipulant”
What does CM mean?
“Cooperative Manipulant”
The champagne was made by a co-op.
What does RC mean?
“Recoltant Cooperateur”
“The grower is selling the champagne made from their own grapes but produced by a co-op.
What does ND mean?
“Negociant Distributer”
A company that buys in champagne, re-brands it and then distributes it.
Pinot Noir is the prominent grape in what districts in Champagne?
Montage de Reims
Côte des Bars (The Aube)
Chardonnay is the dominant grape of what districts in a Champange?
Côte de Sézanne
Côte des Blancs
Pinot Meunier is the primary grape for what District in Champange?
Vallée de la Marne
What is dégorgement à la glace?
The dulling the neck of bottles into a freezing brine solution
What is the French term for the release of older vintages of base wine for use in assemblage?
“Deblocage”
