WINES FROM FRANCE

Champagne

AN INTRODUCTION
Champagne is unquestionably the greatest and most famous sparkling wine in the world. The soil is generally chalk of belemnite which affords good drainage and is ideal for producing light, white wines. The climate is chilly and cool with an average annual temperature of 10 deg C (50 deg F). The vineyards are graded by a Champagne governing body, the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), from 100% (Grand Crus) to 80% (Premier Crus). (Cru=place of growth) All of the Grand cru and Premier cru villages are located in the Marne department. The current Grand crus of Champagne include: Ambonnay, Avize, Ay, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Bouzy, Chouilly, Cramant, Louvois, Mailly Champagne, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry, Puisieulx, Sillery, Tours-surMarne, Verzenay, Verzy.

THE CHAMPAGNE REGION

The main areas in the Champagne region are: Montagne de Reims: south of Reims city, where the best Pinot Noir grows Cote des Blancs: south of Epernay city, where the best Chardonnay grows Valle de la Marne: west of Epernay city, where the best Pinot Meunier grows The Aube : Mainly Pinot Noir grapes are grown.

THE CHAMPAGNE GRAPE VARIETALS

Pinot Noir
Gives body and structure

Chardonnay
Provides freshness and elegance

Pinot Meunier
Bring fruitiness and aromas

THE CHAMPAGNE REGION

THE TRADITIONAL METHOD

Methode Champenoise

RIDDLING (REMUAGE)
After aging, the lees must be consolidated for removal. The bottles undergo a process known as riddling (remuage). In this stage, the bottles are placed on special racks called pupitres that hold them at a 45 angle, with the crown cap pointed down. The drop back into the rack causes a slight tap, pushing sediments toward the neck of the bottle. In 8 to 10 weeks, the position of the bottle is straight down, with the lees settled in the neck.

THE LEES BEFORE DEGORGEMENT

Lees refers to the deposits of dead and residual yeast as well as other particles that precipitate, or are carried out by the action of ning to the bottom of the vat of wine after fermentation and ageing. RD: Sometimes the letters RD appear on the label - they mean recemment degorge - recently disgorged. That means that the wines have been left upside down in their bottles to mature on their lees for many years. This produces wines that are balanced and of deluxe quality.

THE CHAMPAGNE WINE LABEL

Name of the wine Variety of wine Name of the grower Style of wine Classication of vineyards Name of the village Quality Standards
Professional Registration Code

THE PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION CODE

Every bottle of Champagne has to carry an indication of the status of the producer and the brand owner. The various types are as follows. NM Ngociant Manipulant: A rm or person which buys grapes, juice or wine and completes its production on the premises. RM Rcoltant Manipulant: A rm or person which produces wine on its own premises exclusively from grapes it has grown. RC Rcoltant Cooprateur: A grower who gives his grapes to a co-operative and takes back the wine at any stage of the production and sells it. CM Cooprative de Manipulation: A co-operative which vinies and sells wine from grapes supplied by its members. SR Socit de Rcoltants: A family business which produces wines from grapes harvested exclusively by members of the family. ND Ngociant Distributeur: A merchant who buys nished wines and labels them in its own premises.. MA Marque dAcheteur: Buyers Own Brand (BOB). The wine is made and labelled in Champagne, the name of the producer appears on the bottle but the Brand name belongs to a client (wholesale buyer, supermarket, restaurant, vip, etc).

STYLES OF CHAMPAGNE
NON VINTAGE: Non-Vintage or sans Anne Champagne accounts for 85 to 90 percent of all Champagne produced and it is less expensive than those produced in a Vintage year. It is designated as non-Vintage because it is composed of several different vintages, rather than from a single harvest. Each year, all Champagne producers must set aside at least 20 percent of their wine for use in future non-Vintage Champagne. Because this was the only type of Champagne sold for the rst 150 years of Champagne production, it is typically referred to as Classic Champagne. VINTAGE: A Vintage Champagne is one in which all grapes used have been harvested from a single year. There is no law governing when a year is vintage. Instead, each house decides for itself whether it will produce a Vintage Champagne in any given year. According to regulations, Vintage Champagne must be aged for at least 3 years. The year will always appear on the label. CREMANT:Sparkling wines designated Crmant are produced using the traditional method, and have to fulll strict production criteria. In France, there are seven appellations for sparkling wine which include the designation Crmant in their name: Crmant d'Alsace, Crmant de Bordeaux, Crmant de Bourgogne, Crmant de Die, Crmant du Jura, Crmant de Limoux, Crmant de Loire.

THE CHAMPAGNE HOUSES

House Bollinger Hiedsieck & Co Monopole Krug Lanson Laurent-Perrier Founded in 1829 1785 1843 1760 1812 Place Ay Epernay Reims Reims Tours-surMarne Luxury Cuve
Vieilles Vignes Franaises (Vintage) R.D. (Rcemment Dgorg) (Vintage) Diamant Bleu (Vintage) Krug (vintage) Clos du Mesnil (above average years only) Noble Cuvee (vintage) Grand Siecle

THE CHAMPAGNE HOUSES

House Moet & Chandon Perrier-Jouet Piper Hiedsieck Taittinger Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Founded in 1743 1811 1785 1734 1772 Place Epernay Epernay Reims Reims Reims Premium brand
Dom Perignon (Vintage) Belle Epoque (Vintage) Rare Comtes de Champagne (Vintage) La Grand Dame (Vintage) Clicquot Rich Reserve (Vintage)

SWEETNESS IN CHAMPAGNES
Rating Brut Nature Extra Brut Brut Extra Sec Sec Demi-Sec Doux Sugar content 0-3 gms/liter 0-6 gms/liter 0-15 gms/liter 12-20 gms/liter 17-35 gms/liter 33-50 gms/liter 50+ gms/liter Description Bone dry Bone Dry Very Dry Dry to Medium Dry Medium Sweet Sweet Luscious, Very Sweet

THE DOM PERIGNON

Facts and Myths
The famous champagne Dom Prignon, the prstige cuve of Mot & Chandon, is named after him Prignon is frequently given credit for inventing Champagne as well as the famous quote, Come quickly, I am drinking the stars, when describing his rst sips of sparkling wine. However, both are just popular myths. In the Doms day, sparkling wine was more of a fault, not a carefully orchestrated end product. Rather than just looking at the bubbles in the bottle as a fault, he looked to make this product safer and better. Prignon was a pioneer in blending, looking to combine different grape varieties from different vineyards rather just relying on the fruit on hand, which was the standard practice of his day. Dom Prignon didnt invent Champagne, but he was at the forefront in his day of better managing and taking advantage of the natural fermentations that make sparkling wine so special.

THE BEST OF THE BEST

Perrier-Jouet 2000 Brut

Krug 1928

Dom Perignon White Gold

CHAMPAGNE PRODUCTION

Piper Hiedsieck & Co.

PRESENTED BY
Ashish M. Dighe