Pressing (Pressurage)

Hand picked whole clusters are gently pressed to release the highest quality grape juice. In this process, everything is done to avoid staining the juice.

By gradually increasing the pressure the juice is seperated into different qualities.

Coeur de Cuvée

In Champagne, juice extraction is limited to 2550 litres per 4.000 kg grapes.

The best quality juice is called "Coeur de Cuvée" (Heart of the Vintage).

Frase	Description	Usage
Coeur de Cuvée	The first 2050 litres High quality juice Rich in sugar and acidity	Top prestige cuvées are made from this
Taille de Cuvée	The next 500 litres Inferior to Coeur de Cuvée	Used in small quantity for fruity and low acid content
Rebêche	The rest	Not used Generally sent to be distilled

Belons

In Champagne the juice from the pressing is collected in tanks called "belons".

Sulphuring

Addition of sulfur dioxide (SO2) takes place immediately. The rate is from 6 to 10 g/hl depending on the health of the grapes and the must (cuvée or taille).

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Settling (Débourbage)

Débourbage (de-sludging) is the word for letting the freshly pressed juice settle before fermentation. This also allows for solids (skins and pips) to sink to the bottom for easy removal.

Chaptalisation

Chaptalisation is the process of adding sugar to the must to obtain 11% alcohol after the fermentation.

After settling, the juice is sendt to the winery for the first fermentation.

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First Fermentation

Alcoholic Fermentation

This first fermentation transforms the grape juice into wine. Yeasts transform sugar into alcohol. The fermentation process lasts for about two weeks.

Most producers ferment in thermostatically controlled stainless-steel vats (tanks) which gives the purest expression of fruit, while fermentation in oak (barriques) gives more softness and richness.

Malolactic Fermentation

Malolactic fermentation transforms malic acid into lactic acid. This fermentation takes place at the end of the alcoholic fermentation and takes about 4 to 5 weeks. Like all fermentations, it changes the aromas of the wine.

Separation

By pressing different grapes (different varieties, different terroir) separately and fermenting cuvee and taille separately, a whole taste palette of wines are available for the blending.

Clarification

Clarification is carried out either by filtration or centrifugation. Stripped of solids, these "clear wines", still listed by year, grape, and cru, are ready for blending.

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Blending (Assemblage)

The blending takes place in the winter/spring. Winemakers will taste different types of wine (Red and White) from different years, vineyards (or regions), trying to blend a perfect Champagne combination.

Varieties

Varieties blended in Champagne are:
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Chardonnay	Adds frechness Citrus and Floral notes
Pinot Noir	Adds body and aromas of Red Fruit
Pinot Meunier	Adds fruit an roundness

Non-vintage Champagne

Non-vintage Champagne can be a blend of wines from different years.

Vintage Champagne

Vintage Champagne must be a blend of wines from the same year.

Settling

After blending, the wine ist chilled for cold stabilisation (-4°C). This induces crystallisation of tartaric acid and prevents crystal formation in the product. It may be seeded with tartar crystals for a faster effect. The prosess last for 1 to 4 weeks and leaves the wine perfectly clear.

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Second Fermentation

The second fermentation starts with the dry base wine from the first fermentation. This base wine, usually a blend of different vintages and varieties, is high in acidity and low in alcohol (10-11%).

The second fermentation takes place inside the bottle, hermetically sealed with a plastic stopper ("bidule") and a metal cap:

Liqueur de Tirage

The second fermentation is kick-started by adding a "liqueur de tirage". This is a blend of yeast, wine, sugar (20-24 grams/litre), and additives to assist future riddling.

The fermentation lasts from 6 to 8 weeks, while yeast consumes sugar, creates alcohol, and releases the carbon dioxide that create the bubbles.

Maturing on the Side ("Sur Lat")

With the waste and the dead yeast cells still in the bottle, another year of aging contributes to a more complex flavor profile.

The cellar has minimum light, hight humidity, and a constant temperature (12°C/54°F). Champagne wines must spend at least 15 months in the bottle before release, but most Champagne are cellared longer: 2-3 years (non-vintage), 4-10 years (vintage). The greatest Champagne wines can spend several decades maturing in the cellars.

Yeast Autolysis

After fermentation, yeasts form a seediment of "lees" (dead yeast cells) in the bottle. Over time, this sediment breaks down. This is called "Autolysis".

The time (months, years) in contact with the lees, increases the intenisty of the autolitic flavors and creates a richer texture.

Autolitic flavors (secondary aromas) are: Bread, Dough, Toast, Biscuit, Brioch.

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Riddling (Remuage)

Riddling involves turning uptilted bottles very slowly to bring the sediments (dead yeast and waste) down to the bottom (to the cap).

Bottles stored on the side are slowly moved to an upside down position, allowing the sediment to slide gradually to the neck.

Traditionally riddling was done by hand, but today riddling is often automated with a machine (a gyropalette) twisting hundreds of bottles at a time.

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Disgorging (Dégorgement)

Disgorgement is about removing the sediment collected around the cork after riddling.

The neck of the bottle is placed in an ice cold solution (between -25 and -30°C), rapidly frozen and then brought upright to remove the cap.

When the cap (the bidole) is removed, the pressure in the bottle (six bars) ejects the frozen sediment out of the bottle.

Yeast and lees can oxygen for many decades (up to 50 years), holding the wine young and fresh. An aging process start after disgorgement. For this reason, the date of disgorgement is on the bottle.

The general rule is: A wine can be kept after disgorgement for as long as it was kept on the lees. The older, the creamier.

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Dosage (Liqueur d'Expedition)

Dosage refers to the addition of a "Liqueur d'Expedition" to the top of the bottle to regulate sweetness and profile.

Liqueur d'Expedition is a solution of base wine, sugar and sulfites (preservatives).

To garantee a consistent and recognisable taste, some famous Champagne houses have a secret recipe and they can add cognac, kirsch brandy, edelberry wine, raspberry wine, etc, to the dosage.

A sweeter dosage is necessary to balance the acidity. In colder climates, where grapes stuggle to ripen, the wine is very acidic. The dosage balances the acidity:

Regulation EC 607/2009	Sugar gram/litre	Calories /glass
Brut Nature (Brut Zero)	0-3	3
Extra Brut	0-6	5
Brut	0-12	7
Extra Dry (Extra Sec, Extra Seco)	12-17	10
Dry (Sec, Seco)	17-32	20
Demi (Semi)	32-50	30
Doux (Sweet, Dulce)	50+	30+

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Resealing

To withstand the inside presure of 6 to 8 bars, Champagne bottles are thicker than normal bottles. In addition, they are corked with a mushroom shaped cork and a wire cage.

Special bottles have biblical names:

Size	Name
1.5 litre	Magnum
3 litre	Jeroboam (first king of Israel)
4.5 litre	Rehoboam (first king of Judah)
6 litre	Methuselah (died at age 969)
9 litre	Salmanazar (king of Assyria)
12 litre	Balthazar (one of the 3 Magi)
15 litre	Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon)

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Labelling

Champagne can be labelled "Premier Cru" and "Grand Cru" to refer to the most favourable terroir.

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Bottle Aging

Aging refers to the changes in the wine after bottling. The acidity goes down and the tertiary aromas develop (honey, peach, beeswax, mushroom, spice).

In Champagne, some regions have minimum bottle aging requirements.

Traditional Method Naming Rules

Méthode Champenoise is now reserved (by EU) for wines produced in Champagne:

Vinification Champagne

Vinification Red

Wine Region Champagne

Champagne is the region of the most famous sparkling wine in the world.