Laws Flashcards
Sweetness levels for Champagne
Margins allowed?
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
*producers are allowed a margin of +/- 3 grams per liter
Aging requirements for Champagne in bottle
Non-vintage- minimum of 15 months
Vintage- minimum 36 months
Champagne Bottle Sizes
Quarter Bottle (Piccolo) 187 ml Half Bottle (Demi) 375 ml Bottle 750 ml
Michael Jackson (really) makes small boys nervous sometimes
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)
- For still bottles a Double Magnum is 3 L: Equivalent to two Magnums or four standard 750 ml bottles and a Jeroboam is 4.5 L: Equivalent to six standard 750 ml bottles.
- “Imperial” is the same as Methuselah for still bottles.
List the producer label codes for Champagne.
—NM (Négociant Manipulant): A house that purchases grapes and or base wines from growers and other smaller houses.
—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.
—RC (Récoltant Coopérateur): A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label.
—CM (Coopérative Manipulant): A growers’ co-operative that produces the wine under a single brand.
—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.
—ND (Négociant Distributeur): A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make.
—MA (Marque d’Acheteur) “Mark des-CHUR”: A buyer’s own brand, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label.
Name 6 synonyms for Brut Nature.
Non-Dosé, Brut Sauvage, Ultra Brut, Dosage Zéro, Sans Sucre, Pas Dosé.
What percentage of vintage-dated Champagne must contain stated vintage? What is the exception?
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).
How much of a year’s harvest may be sold as vintage Champagne?
Max. 80% of a year’s harvest may be sold as vintage Champagne.
When may wines be disgorged?
Not until at least 12 months after date of tirage
What is echelle des crus and when did it begin?
“scale of growth”. A percentile rating system, established in 1911, for determing the price of grapes sourced from growths. Originally, 12 villages received Grand cru status. In 1985 that number was expanded to 17 with the promotion of five villages (Chouilly, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry and Verzy). 1927, all the vineyards were quality rated on a 100 point scale. 1990, CIVC moved to recommendation instead of regulation.
When was the CIVC established?
1941
What are the four pruning methods are permitted in Champagne?
Cordon de Royat
Chablis
Vallee de La Marne (Meunier only)
Guyot (double and simple).
7 AOP regions for crémant wines
What is the limit on pressing?
Crémant de Bordeaux Crémant de Bourgogne Crémant de Loire Crémant de Limoux Crémant de Die Crémant du Jura Crémant d’Alsace
100 liters from 150kg/2666 liters from 4000 kg
What is the min potential alcohol for Champagne base wines?
What is the maximum RS for Champagne base wines?
Min Pot Alc: 9%
Max RS: 10 g/l
When may tirage occur in Champagne?
May not occur until January 1 of the year following harvest.
What is the max amount of volume increase after tirage has occured in Champagne?
Volume of wine may not increase by more than 1.12% per 1% increase in alcohol during secondary fermentation.
Finished wines in Champagne are marketed in the same bottle in which tirage occurred. What are the exceptions?
Bottle sizes with a volume smaller than 375mL or larger than 3 liters. Basically anything that is not a half bottle, standard bottle, magnum, or jeroboam
What is the maximum amount of increase in volume of wine after liqueur d’Expedition?
The addition of dosage 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 .0666). See the following formula: Volume of Wine (%)-(1.266 x Alcohol Percent Increase) + (.0666 x Sugar Increase)
What is the minimum must weight of Champagne?
143 g/l
What is the minimum planting density of Champagne?
Max 2.5 square meters per vine
What are the max yields for Champagne?
10,400 kg/ha
What is the maximum press yield for Champagne?
102 liters/160 kg or or 2,550 liters from 4,000 kg. (a marc of grapes, the amount held in a traditional Coquard basket press)
—Additional pressed juice is rebeche, or the “end of the pressing”, and must account for 0-10% of the total. This may only be used for distillation.
What does LC stand for on a bottle of Champagne?
Lot Consignee “lut CO-sin-yee: Indicates the year of harvest.
Special Club
General rules for membership? (3)
Rules for “Special Club” Wines? (4)
1) Viticulture must occur on the estate (only RM producers may join)
2) Vinification and bottling must occur on the estate
3) Members must respect and uphold the Club’s charter
1) The “Special Club” is the top-of-the-range, prestige cuvée for all members
2) 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.
3) All base wines and finished “Special Club” wines must undergo tasting analysis
4) All “Special Club” bottles share an identical label and bottle shape
