Champagne Flashcards

Question

What is a Recoltant Cooperateur (RC)

Answer 1

A grower whose grapes are vinified at a co-operative, but sells the wine under his own label

Answer 2

A firm, not a co-operative, set up by a union of often related growers, who share resources to make their wines and collectively market several brands

Answer 3

A middleman company that distributes Champagne it did not make

Answer 4

A buyer's own brand, often a large supermarket chain or restaurant, that purchases Champagne and sells it under its own label

Answer 5

Cordon de Royat Chablis Vallee de la Marne Guyot (double or simple)

Answer 6

102 L of must for every 160 kg of grapes or 2,550 L per 4,000 kg - a marc of grapes, the amount held in a traditional Coquard basket press

Answer 7

Vin de cuvee Vin de taille Rebeche

Answer 8

First 2,050 L mostly free run juice

Answer 9

- The following 500 L after the vin de cuvee - Usually richer in pigment and tannin - Many producers sell off this lesser component of the must or include it in a minor proportion as a structural element in a blend

Answer 10

- Third extraction that is required by law and must comprise 1-10% of the total - Used for distillate, not Champagne

Answer 11

Pressing Debourbage Primary fermentation Malolactic fermentation (not always employed) Clarification Assemblage Liqueur de tirage Second fermentation Autolysis Remuage Degorgement Liqueur d'expedition

Answer 12

After pressing, wine settles at cool temperatures for 8-15 hours. Remaining solids (bourbes) are removed by racking prior to fermentation

Answer 13

After debourbage, the must that is often chaptalized is fermented and results in high-acid base wines (vin clairs) with an approximate alcohol content of 11%. Primary fermentation may occur in either stainless steel or oak, typically used barrels although some use new

Answer 14

It is a process in winemaking in which tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer tasting lactic-acid

Answer 15

Clarification of base wines through fining, filtration, or centrifuge follows primary and alcoholic fermentation and base wines will remain in either stainless steel or barrel (or in rare cases bottles) until late February or March of the year following harvest

Answer 16

Assemblage or blending of base wines, typically from different grapes, growing areas, and vintages is created to capture a consistent expression of "house style" for the given producer. Grapes and reserve wine used may be dictated by desired style (blanc de blanc, vintage, etc.) Consistency from year to year is generall highly desired

Answer 17

A mixture of still wines, yeasts, sugar, and fining agents that are added to bottled assemblage blend and each bottle is affixed with a cork or in most cases a crown cap that is affixed with a bidule (a plastic capsul that will serve to capture the sediment during remuage)

Answer 18

After liqueur de tirage is added, secondary fermentation (prise de mousse) can last up to 8 weeks converting the additional sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Alcohol content rises 1.2-1.3% and the C02 creates a pressure inside the bottle of 5-6 atmospheres.

Answer 19

The breakdown of dead yeast cells that takes place during the secondary fermentation inside the bottles that are most commonly stored horizontally ("sur latte") forming sediment, or lees in the bottle. Aging on the lees lasts for a minimum of 12 months for NV wines prior to disgorgement

Answer 20

Remuage, or riddling, follows wherein the sediment in the bottle is manipulated down into the neck of that bottle and bidule (if crown cap is used) through sharp twists and inversion of the bottle. done by two methods, manually by a remuer or mechanically by a gyropalette

Answer 21

Degorgement of bottles occurs after the sediment has settled in the bottles that have rested "sur pointe", or in the upside -down vertical position. Some wines rest in this position for a short period of time, but others like Bollinger R.D. will be left to age in this position for several years prior to disgorgement (degorgement) wherein the dead yeast in sediment is expelled from the bottle

Answer 22

Liqueur d'expedition, or dosage, a mixture of sugar syrup and wine is added to top up volume lost from disgorgement. The amount of sugar in the dosage is determined and will determine the final style of the wine. Brut is the most common style and non-dosage styles are the rarest. Brut is also the most common style for prestige cuvees and vintage wines for Champagne houses.

Answer 23

Brut Nature / NonDose - 0-3 g/l, no added dosage Extra Brut - 0-6 g/l Brut - 0-12 g/l Extra Dry - 12-17 g/l Demi-Sec - 32-50 g/l Doux - 50+ g/l

Answer 24

- Generally brut in style, makes up 75% of the market | - Houses signature style where consistency from year to year is highly desirable

Answer 25

- Generally brut in style, 100% of blend must come from stated vintage - Max of 80% of a years harvest may be sold as vintage Champage - Only declared in best years and good examples can age for a decade or more

Answer 26

- 100% Chardonnay - May be vintage dated or NV - Represents some of Champagne's most ageworthy bottlings - Austere and steely in youth that develop an intense bouquet with maturity

Answer 27

- White wine produced solely from black grapes - Wine displays richness, intensity, and weight, although it can lack the supreme elegance and finesse of blanc de blancs

Answer 28

- Usually the finest and most expensive bottling that a house offers - Typically, but not always, vintage-dated and aged for a number of years prior to release - Usually only released in superior vintages and may undergo more traditional vinification procedures, such as barrel fermentation, riddling by hand, and a cork-finishing during the second fermentation - Many of the large houses produce prestige cuvees from their own vineyards, even single vineyards in exceptional vintages - Can be Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, or Rose in style - Not all houses produce a prestige cuvee and some produce several

Answer 29

- Originated in 1971 with a dozen of grower-producers (now with over two dozen RM in the club) - Created by grower-producers who lacked the marketing budgets of larger houses. These producers banded together to promote their prestige cuvees through identical packaging - Estate-bottled, vintage-dated bottles that represent the pinnacle of each individual grower's style and production - Special club bottles and labels share identical design

Answer 30

- Can be vintage or non-vintage in style - Can be created by blending red reserver wine or by using the saignee method (less common) - Champagne is the only AOP in France that allows a rose to be produced by blending red and white wine - A rose prestige cuvee, a novelty in years past, is usually the most expensive and rare product a house offers

Answer 31

Still red, white, and rose wines from the entire Champagne AOP

Answer 32

100% Pinot Noir rose produced in Les Riceys, a village cru in the Aube

Champagne Flashcards

(56 cards)