Champagne wine Flashcards

1
Q

Oldest Champagne house

A

Gosset, est 1584

Founded as still wine producer

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2
Q

Oldest sparkling Champagne house

A

Ruinart, est 1729

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3
Q

remuage

A

riddling

Cliquot

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4
Q

dégorgement

A

disgorgement

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5
Q

Jean-Antoine Chaptal

A

French chemist and statesman for whom the process of chaptalization is named, identified the relationship between sugar and fermentation in a seminal 1801 work

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6
Q

André François

A

Pharmacist, perfected measurement of the precise amount of sugar required to induce it without breaking the bottle which allowed Champagne houses to produce sparkling wines with greater confidence

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7
Q

Champagne production in 1800

A

300,000 bottles

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8
Q

Champagne production in 1883

A

36 million

vs. 300,000 in 1800

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9
Q

First brut Champagne

A

Pommery “Nature” in 1874

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10
Q

First official delimitation of Champagne region

A

1908

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11
Q

1911 Riots

A

Vignerons from the southern Aube region, who had long supplied Champagne houses with base white wine, protested after being left out of first official limits

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12
Q

Aube reinstated in Champagne region in what year?

A

1927

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13
Q

When did German troops enter Reims? (WWI)

A

1914

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14
Q

Otto Klaebisch

A

Nazi agent, nicknamed the “Weinführer”
Resided at Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin residence
Demanded huge sums of Champagne for troops

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15
Q

CIVC

A

Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne
est. 1941

From the existing but limited framework of the 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.

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16
Q

1st vintage Moët et Chandon’s “Dom Pérignon”

A

1921

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17
Q

tête de cuvée

A

Prestige Cuvée

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18
Q

bouvreux

A

Second crop, rarely ripens

Results after interrupted flowering from cold climate

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19
Q

Champagne subsoil

A

belemnite chalk

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20
Q

belemnite chalk

A

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.

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21
Q

micraster chalk

A

amed for an extinct sea urchin, characterizes the valley vineyards

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22
Q

Dominant soil type in Aube

A

clay

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23
Q

Pinot Noir plantings

A

38% of region

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24
Q

Chardonnay plantings

A

31%

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25
Q

Meunier plantings

A

31%

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26
Q

7 authorized grapes

A

PN, Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc Vrai (“true” Pinot Blanc, a white form of Pinot Noir), Arbane, Pinot Gris, and Petit Meslier

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27
Q

authorized pruning methods

A

Cordon de Royat, Chablis, Vallée de la Marne, and Guyot (double and simple).

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28
Q

average vine age

A

20 years

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29
Q

limit of pressing

A

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

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30
Q

number of villages authorized to grow Champagne grapes

A

357

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31
Q

grand cru villages

A

17

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32
Q

premier cru villages

A

42

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33
Q

Échelle de Crus

A

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. 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.

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34
Q

blocage and deblocage

A

reserve and release of wine stocks for use in future vintages
authorized by CIVC

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35
Q

The only premier cru villages with a 99% rating?

A

Mareuil-sur-Ay in the Vallée de la Marne and Tauxières in Montagne de Reims

36
Q

Name for villages under a 90 point echelle rating

A

crus

37
Q

NM (Négociant Manipulant)

A

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.

38
Q

RM (Récoltant Manipulant)

A

A grower-producer who makes Champagne from estate-grown fruit. 95% of the grapes must originate in the producer’s own vineyards.

39
Q

CM (Coopérative Manipulant)

A

A growers’ co-operative that produces the wine under a single brand.

40
Q

RC (Récoltant Coopérateur)

A

A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.

41
Q

SR (Société de Récoltants)

A

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.

42
Q

ND (Négociant Distributeur)

A

A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make.

43
Q

MA (Marque d’Acheteur)

A

A buyer’s own brand, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.

44
Q

vin de cuvée

A

the first 2,050 liters of pressing

45
Q

vin de taille

A

the second 500 liters of pressed juice
minor proportion of the blend
sold of

46
Q

rebêche

A

3rd extraction, required by law
1-10% of total
used in distillate

47
Q

débourbage

A

The settling of the juice/must after pressing

8-15 hours in the cold, allows solids (bourbes) to be collected

48
Q

vin clair

A

high acid base wine fermented to 11%

49
Q

iqueur de tirage

A

a mixture of still wine, yeasts, sugar, and fining agents that will serve to ignite the second fermentation

50
Q

prise de mousse

A

2nd fermentation

51
Q

bidule

A

located in crown cap, a plastic capsule that will serve to capture the sediment during remuage

52
Q

sur latte

A

storing bottles horizontally

53
Q

Autolysis

A

breakdown of yeast cells

54
Q

remuage

A

riddling

55
Q

pupitre

A

two large wooden planks fastened together in an upright “A” shape, with sixty angled holes cut into each plank of wood

56
Q

gyropalette

A

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.

57
Q

sur pointe

A

bottles held upside-down and vertical

58
Q

dégorgement à la glace

A

neck of bottle dipped in freezing brine solution

59
Q

dégorgement à la volée

A

old method, not using freezing brine

loses more wine

60
Q

Brut Nature/Non-Dosé

A

0-3 grams per liter, no added dosage

61
Q

Extra Brut

A

0-6 grams per liter

62
Q

Brut

A

0-12 grams per liter

63
Q

Extra Dry

A

12-17 grams per liter

64
Q

Sec

A

17-32 grams per liter

65
Q

Demi-Sec

A

32-50 grams per liter

66
Q

Doux

A

50+ grams per liter

67
Q

muselet

A

wire cage

68
Q

Transvasage

A

Permitted for bottle sizes larger than a Jeroboam and smaller than a half bottle.

Remuage is unnecessary, as the wine is disgorged into a pressurized tank and filtered. Dosage is added, and the wine is transferred to a clean bottle under pressure.

69
Q

Quarter Bottle (Piccolo)

A

187 ml

70
Q

Half Bottle (Demi)

A

375 ml

71
Q

Bottle size

A

750 ml

72
Q

Magnum

A

1.5 L (2 bottles)

73
Q

Jeroboam

A

3 L (4 bottles)

74
Q

Rehoboam (discontinued in 1989)

A

4.5 L (6 bottles)

75
Q

Methuselah

A

6 L (8 bottles)

76
Q

Salmanazar

A

9 L (12 bottles)

77
Q

Balthazar

A

12 L (16 bottles)

78
Q

Nebuchadnezzar

A

15 L (20 bottles)

79
Q

Solomon

A

18 L (24 bottles)

80
Q

Non-Vintage (NV)

A

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.

81
Q

Vintage

A

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.

82
Q

Blanc de Blancs

A

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.

83
Q

Blanc de Noirs

A

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.

84
Q

Prestige Cuvée (Tête de Cuvée)

A

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. Many of the large houses produce prestige cuvées from their own vineyards—even single vineyards in exceptional cases. Prestige cuvées may be Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs or rosé in style. Not all houses produce a prestige cuvée, and some produce several. Classic examples include Moët et Chandon “Dom Pérignon,” Taittinger “Comtes de Champagne,” Louis Roederer “Cristal,” Laurent-Perrier “Grande Siècle,” Perrier-Jouët “Belle Époque” (bottled as “Fleur de Champagne” for the US market), Pol Roger “Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill,” Ruinart “Dom Ruinart,” and Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin “La Grande Dame.”

85
Q

Single Vineyard Champagne

A

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.

86
Q

Special Club Prestige Cuvée

A

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.

87
Q

Rosé Champagne

A

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.