Pinot Meunier
The signature grape of the Marne Valley. It buds later, so it copes better with spring frosts. It brings fruitiness, juiciness and approachability to champagne.
Where champagne came from
Champagne is the northernmost wine region of France, about 150 kilometres from Paris. For a long time its cool climate made life hard for winemakers: in spring the wine in the bottles started to ferment again on its own and the bottles burst.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, what had first been a flaw became a virtue. Winemakers learned to control the second fermentation in the bottle, and sparkling wine from Champagne became a favourite of royal courts across Europe. Today the name Champagne is protected: only wine from this region, made by the traditional method under strict rules, may be called champagne.
How champagne is made
The traditional method, méthode champenoise in French. At least a year and a half passes from harvest to the first sip, and much longer for vintage wines.
- 01
Hand harvest
In Champagne the grapes are picked only by hand and in whole bunches, so the skins of the black grapes are not damaged and do not colour the juice.
- 02
Gentle pressing
The grapes are pressed carefully and in stages. The best, first fraction of the juice makes the finest wines.
- 03
First fermentation
The juice becomes a still wine. Each grape variety and vineyard is usually vinified separately.
- 04
Assemblage
The winemaker builds the final cuvée from wines of different varieties, vineyards and often older vintages. This is where the house style is born.
- 05
Tirage
A little sugar and yeast are added to the wine and the bottle is sealed with a crown cap, much like beer.
- 06
Second fermentation in the bottle
The yeast turns the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which has nowhere to escape. That is how the bubbles are born.
- 07
Ageing on the lees
Non-vintage champagne ages for at least 15 months, vintage champagne for at least three years. The wine gains finesse and notes of brioche.
- 08
Remuage
The bottles are gradually turned neck down so the settled yeast slides towards the cork.
- 09
Disgorgement and dosage
The neck is frozen and the sediment shoots out. The bottle is topped up with the dosage, a mix of wine and sugar that sets the final sweetness.
- 10
Cork and wire cage
Finally comes the cork with its wire cage, and the bottle rests in the cellar for a few more months.
Three grapes, a thousand flavours
Pinot Noir
A black grape that gives the wine body, structure and red fruit notes. Its skins also colour rosé champagnes.
Chardonnay
The only white grape of the big three. It brings freshness, elegance, citrus notes and great ageing potential. On its own it makes Blanc de Blancs.
Brut or Demi-Sec?
The sweetness of champagne is set by the dosage, the amount of sugar added before corking. The categories are defined by EU rules. The more sugar, the longer the bar.
- Brut Nature0–3 g/l
- Extra Brut0–6 g/l
- Brutup to 12 g/l
- Extra Dry12–17 g/l
- Sec17–32 g/l
- Demi-Sec32–50 g/l
- Douxover 50 g/l
Acidity and bubbles balance the sweetness a great deal, so even a Brut with a few grams of sugar tastes dry and fresh.
How to serve champagne
- Temperature. Fresh champagne at around 8 °C, vintage and more mature wines at 10 to 12 °C. Wine that is too cold loses its aroma.
- Chilling. Fastest in a bucket of water and ice, about 20 minutes. A few hours in the fridge. Better skip the freezer.
- The glass. A tulip shape or a white wine glass. Bubbles look pretty in a narrow flute, but the wine shows little aroma.
- Opening. Tilt the bottle to about 45 degrees, hold the cork with your thumb and slowly turn the bottle, not the cork. Properly opened champagne just gives a quiet sigh.
- Pouring. Pour in two steps: a little first, and once the foam settles, top up to about two thirds.
How to store champagne
Store unopened bottles lying down, cool at around 10 to 13 °C, in the dark and without vibration. Temperature swings are the worst, such as a bottle on top of the fridge or next to a radiator.
Non-vintage champagne is ready to drink as soon as you buy it and keeps for a few years. Vintage wines and prestige cuvées can age longer, gaining notes of dried fruit, nuts and honey.
Close an opened bottle with a sparkling wine stopper and finish it within two to three days. A spoon in the neck, sadly, does not help.
Sabrage: opening champagne with a sabre
A tradition associated with Napoleon’s hussars. The sabre slides along the seam of the bottle towards the neck, and a strike on the lip cleanly breaks off the neck with the cork. The pressure in the bottle then blows any glass fragments out.
It looks easy, but do not try it without a well-chilled bottle and proper instruction. And never aim at people.
A short glossary
- Assemblage
- Blending wines from different varieties, vineyards and vintages into the final cuvée.
- Blanc de Blancs
- White from whites: champagne made only from Chardonnay.
- Blanc de Noirs
- White from blacks: champagne made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
- Brut
- Dry champagne, the most common style, up to 12 g of sugar per litre.
- Cuvée
- The blend of wines that makes a particular champagne. Also the name for the first, finest part of the pressing.
- Degorgement
- Removing the yeast sediment from the neck of the bottle after ageing.
- Dosage
- The mix of wine and sugar added after disgorgement. It sets the sweetness.
- Millésime
- Vintage champagne made from the grapes of a single, exceptional year.
- Perlage
- The bubbles and their play in the glass. The finer and more persistent, the better.
- Remuage
- Gradually turning the bottles so the sediment slides into the neck.
