Julie Harrison - Champagne

Champagne is the ultimate special occasion wine.  So what is it that makes Champagne so special?  Champagne can only come from the Champagne region of France and it is the soils and climate of this region that helps to set it apart from other sparkling wines. There are also many rules that wine growers and wine makers have to adhere to in order to make Champagne.

The main varieties that are used for French Champagne production are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. Three other varieties Petit Meslier, Arbane and Pinot Blanc are also permitted but are rarely used.  Most Champagne is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Sometimes just Chardonnay is used and then the Champagne is a Blanc de Blanc or if just Pinot Noir is used it is a Blanc de Noirs.

Grapes for Champagne production are picked a lot earlier and far less ripe than those for making still white table wine.  This means the sugar level is relatively low so after fermentation to dryness the alcohol content of the wine is not too high.  Higher acid levels in the less ripe grapes also give Champagne its crisp, slightly acidic character and help to preserve the wine.  

Once the grapes are picked they are gently pressed and the free run juice undergoes fermentation in a vessel such as a large stainless steel tank.  Once this fermentation has finished and the sugar has all been converted to alcohol you are left with a still dry wine.  It is not really a very pleasant wine, being light in flavour, very dry and acidic.  At this stage the wine may be blended with wine from previous vintages to create what is a very uniform product from year to year and what we know as a Non-Vintage Champagne.  In an exceptional vintage a wine can be made from a single year and this is Vintage Champagne.

Once the wine is blended the “liqueur de tirage” is added.  This is sugar and yeast and  is responsible for the secondary fermentation.  After closing the bottles with cork lined metal crown caps the bottles are stored on their side in cool cellars.  The yeast ferments the sugar resulting in the production of more alcohol and Carbon dioxide gas which are the bubbles.  The Cuvee is now “en tirage” which may last from 15 months to several years.  Non Vintage Champagne must be left like this “on lees” for a minimum of 15 months and Vintage Champagne a minimum of 3 years although most producers exceed this.  The “lees” is made up of dead yeast cells and other particles from the fermentation.  This is a very important part of champagne production as the wine interacts with the dead yeast cells resulting in some of those delicious toasty, bready characteristics you find in Champagne.  If you hear the term yeast autolysis character that is what this is.

Once the aging process has finished you still have the lees in the bottle which needs to be removed.  This sediment needs to get to the neck of the bottle, a process called remuage.  Madame Cliquot was responsible for working out how to do this.  Traditionally bottles are placed at a 45 degree angle, neck down in special racks.  Experienced workers shake and twist each bottle while slightly increasing the tilt of the bottle every 1 to 3 days over a period of several weeks until the bottles end up standing straight, upside down with the sediment now resting in the caps.  This process is called riddling.  Obviously very time and labour expensive, nowadays automated machines called gyropalettes accomplish the same thing.

Disgorgement is the process of removing the sediment from the bottle.  The bottle necks are dipped in a solution of freezing brine solution or glycol.  This freezes the plug of sediment, the bottle is inverted and uncapped and a small amount of wine and sediment pops out.  The bottle is then topped up with the “dosage” which is a small amount of sugar or grape must which sweetens the wine to the desired level before being recapped.  It is this stage that determines the sweetness of the Champagne.  It is useful to know the terms for sweetness level; so in order from very dry to very sweet you have: extra brut, brut (most common), extra dry, sec, demi-sec and the sweetest of all doux.

Whilst we are all familiar with some of the famous Champagne producers such as Veuve Clicquot and Moet look out for some of the less well known brands which are often very good quality at a reasonable price.