Champagne - Traditional Method

Question 1

How are the grapes traditionally pressed?

Answer 1

Using a basket press loaded with 4000kg of grapes (a Marc)

Question 2

What is the first 2050 litres of the Marc called ?

Answer 2

Cuvée and it consists of the free run juice and the first press

Question 3

How is the cuvée characterised?

Answer 3

It has high acidity and makes wine of high ageing potential

Question 4

What is the Taille of the press fraction?

Answer 4

The last 500 litres of juice gently pressed from the Marc

Question 5

How is the juice and resulting wine characterised?

Answer 5

Lower acidity but richer in color pigments and phenolics

Question 6

In what style of wine would one expect the Taille to be used?

Answer 6

Non-vintage wine for early consumption

Question 7

What is the usual yield and the maximum to which the Comité Champagne may raise it?

Answer 7

79 hl/ha and 98 hl/h

Question 8

In high quality productive years, what happens to the excess wine?

Answer 8

The are kept as reserve wines for blending

Question 9

Does EU law permit chaptalisation in the region? If yes, to achieve what min/max alcohol

Answer 9

Yes. In cooler years it is permitted to create minimum alcohol levels of 11 % abv to a mx of 13% abv

Question 10

What other presses are also used in Champagne?

Answer 10

pneumatic and hydraulic horizontal

Question 11

It is the winemakers choice to use MLF after primary ferment? When would he not use it?

Answer 11

• If the sharper acidity assisted in providing the desired style of wine
• in warmer vintages

Question 12

The Chef de Cave does what?

Answer 12

He is the master blender

Question 13

What does the assemblage blend ?

Answer 13

Different grape varieties, plots, vintages, press fractions

Question 14

What style of champagne depends upon blending the most?

Answer 14

Non vintage as year on year, they must produced a consistent style irrespective of the vintage variation

Question 15

How many reserve wines might the large champagne houses have to choose from?

Answer 15

over 100 which makes blending easier and mitigates risks from a variety of hazards. There will always be wine produced no matter what

Question 16

Large brands typically use what % of reserve wine in a NV?

Answer 16

10-15%

Question 17

Prestige brands may use old reserve wines to do what?

Answer 17

Add complexity to the final wine

Question 18

How does storage effect the characteristics of the reserve wine?
Refer to stainless steel, vs old oak vs solera vs magnum

Answer 18

• stainless steel storage gives a wine which adds small but significant difference in complexity to the final wine
• old oak gives the final wine small oxidative notes
• solera system drains off older reserves from stores and adds newer reserve to the perpetual reserves to add complexity
• magnum ageing of reserve for many years to provide depth and complexity (eg. Bollinger)

Question 19

Aside from non-vintage style, what other style often depends heavily on blending?

Answer 19

Rosés. Red and white base wines are often blended before the 2nd fermentation.

Question 20

What does yeast do to the color in each ferment and how does this contribute to the price of the wine?

Answer 20

Yeast absorbs some of the color pigment from black grapes and therefore the final rosé color is tricky to predict. An EXPERIENCED winemaker must make that judgement which is risky an may add to the price

Question 21

What is the difference in stipulated maturation times for non vintage and vintage

Answer 21

• non vintage 15 months with at least 12 on the lees

- vintage hold for min 3 years after tirage (movement into bottle for 2nd ferment) with at least 12 months on the lees

Question 22

When will time on the lees cease to make any more autolytic notes?

Answer 22

After a decade

Question 23

Yeast co opts O2 from the wine which protects against oxidation and so wine may remain on lees for a long time. What is the resulting wine called?

Answer 23

Late disgorged wine ($$$)

Question 24

The sugar in the Liqueur de Expedition does what?

Answer 24

• determines the sweetness of the final wine

- interacts with autolytic notes in the Maillard reaction to create toasty, roasted umami notes