Viticulture Flashcards
Of the total vineyard area (35,000 ha), which is the % that belong to the 110 large exporting houses of Champagne (the so called Grandes Marques, which are all also négociants-manipulants, identified as NM on bottle labels), responsible for the worldwide reputation of champagne wines?
And the rest?
Even if they account for over the 90% of the export sales, Grandes Marques own only a small fraction of the Champagne vineyards (~13%), and many are heavily reliant on purchased grapes from growers or récoltants, which owned the rest of the regional vineyards area.
Those owner growers (récoltant) are more than 15,000, and more and more of them (5,000) are making and selling their own wine (RM, récoltants-manipulants).
In %, how is compose the Champagne vineyard?
Meaty Pinot Noir is most planted (38% of the vineyards), having overtaken Pinot Meunier (32%), a sort of country cousin that is easier to grow and ripen, obviously fruity but rarely so fine. Plantings of fresh-flavoured, potentially creamy Chardonnay have increased in recent years to 30% of the total.
How many ha/acres has Champagne?
35,000 ha/86,500 acres.
In Champagne, fertilisation is practice?
If yes, why and how?
The poverty of the soil requires constant addition of fertilizer, either the cendres noirs, the natural compost found on the region’s hilltops, or, until the late 1990s, finely ground (and curiously multicoloured) household rubbish from Rheims, or even Paris.
Which entity set the yields each year?
Which are the yields permit now in Champagne?
Nowadays, the Comité Champagne sets the yield each year, usually well below the maximum limit set by EU regulations which is 15,500 kg/ha. Since 1992, 160 (rather than the earlier limit of 150) kg of grapes are required to produce 102 l of juice, which means that the maximum permitted yield is 65 hl/ha.
Which are the pruning methods mostly used in Champagne, and for which grapes?
In all Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards, pruning must be by the Taille Chablis method, preferred for Chardonnay, or the Cordon de Royat method, preferred for Pinot Noir. Both methods retain a high degree of permanent wood that helps the vine to resist frost. The other pruning method used for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is the Guyot method. As for Pinot Meunier, it is typically pruned by the Vallée de la Marne method, which is similar to Guyot.
Which is the maximum yields permitted in the Champagne vineyards?
The maximum permitted yield used to be 13,000kg/ha, but from 2007 was increased to 15,500kg/ha.
Which is the planting density?
Plantings are dense with vines no more than 1.5m apart.
