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Champagne – the drink that symbolises luxury, celebration and wealth… drunk by the rich, the powerful, the famous and as Mark Twain once said

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.”

Winston Churchill purportedly drank two bottles of Pol Roger a day and had one of its most celebrated cuvées (Cuvée Winston Churchill) named in his honour.

What is Champagne?

champagne wineChampagne is a sparkling wine from the region and appellation of Champagne, in northeastern France, 90km or so from Paris. The region has some of the most testing, cold and wet weather of any French wine region and has been the site of two world wars. Not the first place you would have in mind for world-class winemaking.

What separates champagne from other sparkling wines is a combination of the way it is produced, known as ‘traditional method’ or ‘méthode Champenoise’ and the terroir. The soil of Champagne is made from chalk, limestone and fossilised seashells, a mix known as Kimmeridgian soil. This soil is essential in creating a balanced acidity and finesse associated with the best champagne.

How is champagne made? What is ‘traditional method’?

1. Wine grapes are picked, crushed then fermented separately into a still wine (of 10.5-11% ABV).

2. If for a blend, different base wines are now mixed (assemblage).

3. A small amount of yeast, sugar and wine (liqueur de tirage) are added to start a second fermentation and sealed with a crown cap.

4. Trapped, the CO2 from the yeast and sugar reaction naturally carbonates the wine.

5. Tilting the bottles downwards on an ‘A-frame’ rack called a ‘pupitre’ (pictured above) and moving or ‘riddling’ the bottles 1/8th turns allows the dead yeast cells, called lees, to collect in the neck of the bottle where a ‘crown cap’ is the closure. This legally takes a minimum of 15 months.

6. The bottle is then frozen at the tip and ‘disgorged’. Depending on the ‘wine makers cuvée’  sugar and wine might be added once more – called a ‘dosage’. The bottle is then sealed with a cork and cage.

Vintage vs. Non-vintage

A ‘vintage’ champagne is a wine in which all of the grapes have been harvested in the same year. It’s a great way for the producer to show the prestige of the terroir along with the individuality of each vintage. Vintage champagne gains more richness and complexity from this ‘sur-lie’ ageing (ageing the wine on spent yeast following fermentation). Naturally, vintage champagnes demand higher prices as they are kept in reserve for longer and are in greater demand.

The purpose of ‘non-vintage’ champagne is the ability to create a ‘house style’. This ‘style’ can be replicated year after year, through blending, regardless of a cold or hot vintage. Therefore creating consistent champagne that dedicated drinkers of the ‘house’ can depend on. The majority of these bottles are meant to be consumed young and fresh although some producers do aim to create age-worthy cuvées.

Sweetness in champagne ( the ‘Dosage’)

‘Dosage’ is a portion of wine and sugar added to the wine just before the final bottling. It is the last chance for the winemaker to re-balance and fine-tune the style they are looking for.

However, nothing is made simple for the consumer and the labelling of the bottle denotes the ‘dosage’ in the wine in French. In comparison with a bottle of shop-bought soda like Coca-Cola, these are miniscule amounts, making champagne seem the healthier option! (113g/L is normal for standard Coca Cola)

See below calories per 150ml glass:

– Brut Nature (A.K.A Brut Zero) – 0-3 g/L RS – 91–93 calories.
– Extra Brut 0-6 g/L RS – 91–96 calories
– Brut 0-12 g/L RS – 91–98 calories
– Extra Dry 12-17 g/L RS – 98–101 calories
– Sec or Dry 17-32 g/L RS – 101–111 calories
– Demi-Sec 32-50 g/L RS – 111–121 calories
– Doux 50+ g/L RS – 121 calories (100ml full fat milk!)

The History of Champagne

The way champagne is made today can be attributed to a number of figures, two of which are, surprisingly, English.

English physicist Christopher Merret discovered that the introduction of sugar could intentionally trigger the second fermentation. This hugely valuable contribution meant that winemakers could control sparkling winemaking instead of simply allowing bottles to spontaneously ferment and potentially explode as the cellar temperatures rose in the spring.

The English were also the first to transfer sparkling wine from cask to stronger coal-fired glass bottles.

Sir Robert Mansell had a monopoly on glass production in Newcastle. He produced bottles capable of holding the atmospheric pressure and carbonation of what would become the ‘traditional method’.

The advances in stronger bottles and controlled second fermentation paved the way for two pivotal figures to develop champagne as the wine we know today. In the mid to late 1600s, Monk Dom Pérignon developed a series of techniques for vineyard management, including pruning and grape selection, was well as white winemaking from red grapes. In the early 1800s, Madame ‘Veuve’ (widow) Cliquot developed what we now know as ‘riddling’. Before there was no known way to remove the yeast from the champagne bottles. Prior to this technique champagne was often cloudy and contained sediment. Clarifying the wine made it more glamorous and appealing, as she established Champagne as the drink of Royal Courts and high society.

(Fun Fact: The British thirst for sparkling wine has been going on since the late 1700s when boozy café societies drove sales and consumption.  Today the UK is champagne’s biggest market with 26 million bottles sold in 2019.)

The Holy Trinity – Champagne’s three grapes you must know

There are three main grape varieties that are used for champagne production: the clean, citric white Chardonnay; and two red grapes, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

champagneChardonnay Chardonnay is what most people will understand as the flavour of Champagne: austere and acid-driven when young, it develops toasty, rich biscuity flavours if aged under the right conditions. When blended as part of “the holy trinity”, Chardonnay is a versatile grape. It can be found as the leader of the pack in blanc-de-blancs (100% Chardonnay) champagne.

Pinot Noir Pinot Noir  is Champagne’s most planted grape despite it being the most difficult to grow. In blends Pinot Noir brings structure, richness and body. It can be quite broad and “in your face”. But with precise vineyard management and cellaring it can be elegant and refined. Most Blanc-de-noirs (‘white of blacks’) are made with 100% Pinot Noir grapes.

Meunier Meunier (formerly known as Pinot Meunier) is a round, aromatic and full, fruity red grape. It was previously used as a blending grape only, but now the more progressive producers are using it as a single varietal. Roger Barnier made a superb 100% Meunier in 2012, which showcases the grape’s expressiveness and gastronomic potential.

This “Holy Trinity” dominates the plantings of Champagne vineyards, but there are four other grapes approved for champagne production: Petit Meslier, Arbane, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc.

Champagne’s Sub-Regions

All five regions have their own distinct personality and geology, that contribute to the land of Champagne and the style of the wine it is famous for.champagne regions

Montagne de Reims

The controversially named ‘Montagne de Reims’ sits 283m above sea level – so more of a wide plateau than a mountain. It’s located just South of the city of Reims. The sub-region has some of the most diverse soil in Champagne. It’s the home of all three major grapes in the region. The Montagne de Reims is known for Pinot Noir. It’s nine Grand Cru villages are the sources for ripe, high-quality grapes.

Côte des Blancs

Côte des Blancs specialises in Chardonnay. Running south from the city of Epernay – the soil of this east and southeast-facing slopes (or “côte”) has a higher amount of chalk than elsewhere in Champagne. This creates grapes with high levels of acidity – a natural fit for Chardonnay and Blanc de Blancs. Four Grand-Cru villages can be found here: Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.

Vallée de la Marne

Located along the Marne river – west of Epernay, the Vallée de la Marne is Meunier country. As this region is prone to frost and is more dominated by clay and sand rather than chalk, Meunier works best as it buds late and ripens early. Some Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are planted here as well.

Côte de Sézanne

The Côte de Sezanne’s soil isn’t as dominated by chalk, offering a different flavour profile to the vines – mostly Chardonnay – grown there. Wines tend to be slightly lower in acidity but slightly higher in aromatic intensity. Aube (and sub-region of Côte des Bars) A Pinot Noir dominated area with really exciting small grower-producers, near the city of Troyes. Looking at a map, it might not be initially apparent that the Aube is part of Champagne. (it’s actually closer to Burgundy than it is to Reims and Epernay!)

Champagne House vs. Grower-producer

Champagne House (´Négociant Manipulant`) Historically the largest Champagne producers or ‘Houses’ did not grow their own grapes or own their own vineyards. Instead, they would purchase all or most of their grapes or base wines from small winegrowers before blending, inducing secondary fermentation, ageing and selling this wine under the house’s label. The greater percentage of the region’s production still comes from these champagne houses. They tend to have larger-scale production, more commercial international recognition and a focus on style consistency. While the champagne house concept isn’t as sought after or ‘trendy’, these houses were responsible for champagne becoming a household name.

Grower-producer (´Récoltant Manipulant`) As the name suggests, grower-producers produce Champagne from grapes they grow themselves. In contrast to the large Champagne houses, that focus on consistency of flavour year-in-year-out, grower-producers tend to highlight and celebrate the differences, producing more single-vintage, single-vineyard and single-variety Champagnes. This is artisan winemaking at its best! It can, depending on the focus of the cuvée, be seen as a more subjective, individual and gastronomic style of Champagne – hence why Sommeliers and fine dining restaurants will often champion smaller producers. Great examples are Champagne Barnier L’Oublieé Solera or Arteis 2008 Rosé.

This is a guest post by Merlin Ramos


Merlin is General Manager at Eldr Restaurant, a Pan-Nordic restaurant, that is part of the incredibly stylish Pantechnicon building in London. He has a Michelin star-studded sommelier resumé having worked in Wine and Managment at Elystan Street, Ikoyi, Pollen Street Social, Social Eating House and Club Gascon.

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