The making of Champagne
Champagne making is an age-old art that blends science, tradition and terroir to create one of the most iconic drinks in the world. This prestigious method originated in the Champagne region of France and has captured the palate of wine lovers around the world.
"The video opposite from the CIVC is a true immersion in the fascinating world of the vine, the production and tasting of champagne. This sparkling drink, synonymous with celebration and refinement, has a rich and complex history, and this video will guide you through every step of its creation, from the vines to your glass."
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Source: www.champagne.fr
Grape varieties in Champagne
The production of champagne requires the blending of several grape varieties from the Pinot family. The three main ones used are:
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“chardonnay (white grape which gives a fresh and delicate wine)”;
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"pinot noir (black grape with colorless pulp, which nevertheless gives a white juice because the skins do not have time to tint the juice during pressing and which gives a full-bodied wine with a fine bouquet);"
"Pinot Meunier (black grape with colorless pulp also produces a wine close to Pinot Noir but fruitier and with reduced aging potential)."
"So, the most famous white wine is mainly made from black grapes on a little over thirty thousand hectares" of vines in total, it is the northernmost vineyard in France with 60 to 80 days of frost per year.
It owes its wealth to its fragmentation, each village constituting a vintage, that is to say the product of a terroir and a climate; there are 302 vintages. The largest champagne cellars are in Épernay and Reims."
"Champagne is produced in the area
wine growing delimited by the law of July 22, 1927.
This area is not in one piece. There are four grape production zones which bring together the seventeen champagne terroirs.
The Reims mountain (Marne department): mainly exposed to the south, the hillsides are located on soils whose chalk is deeply buried.
The dominant grape variety is Pinot Noir. In the cellars of the Montagne de Reims rest champagnes renowned for their power, their structure and their nobility. The Reims mountain can be divided into five very distinct zones: Sermiers, Chigny-les-Roses, Nogent l'Abbesse, Verzenay, Trépail and Bouzy–Ambonnay."
