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Champagne and Sparkling Wine

Table of Contents
  1. From Still to Sparkling Wine in Champagne
  2. Viticulture and Climate in Champagne
  3. The Regions of Champagne
  4. The CIVC and Échelle de Crus
  5. Types of Champagne Producers
  6. The Méthode Champenoise
  7. Styles of Champagne
  8. Still wines of Champagne
  9. Other Traditional Method Sparkling Wines
  10. Other Sparkling Winemaking Methods
  11. Review Quizzes

From Still to Sparkling Wine in Champagne

The techniques of sparkling winemaking did not originate with the Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, nor was the first purposely sparkling wine produced in the region of Champagne. Regardless, through centuries of refinement Champagne has become the world’s leading sparkling wine and the vinous embodiment of luxury and celebration.

The méthode Champenoise, a complicated process involving secondary fermentation in the bottle, is at the heart of Champagne’s character and has been adopted by sparkling winemakers worldwide. The term, like “Champagne” itself, is protected by the EU, and may only be applied to sparkling wines produced according to the prescribed method within the Champagne AOP. Wines made in the fashion of Champagne but produced elsewhere may be labeled as traditional method (méthode traditionnelle) or classic method (méthode classique). Some producers, particularly in the US, continue to label their sparkling wines as Champagne, but such wines are banned from the EU.

Dom Pérignon’s lasting contributions to modern Champagne lie in the techniques of assemblage (blending) and viticulture, despite the persistent myth that anoints him as the inventor of sparkling winemaking. As cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668 until his death in 1715, Pérignon struggled with the problem of natural refermentation. The irrepressibly cold winters of the region created a danger: as the weather cooled off in the autumn and the yeasts became dormant, fermentation would sometimes prematurely stop, and the wines
Comments

  • "Today, merchant houses own just over 10% of Champagne’s vineyards, as the Contrôle des Structures prohibits any firm from farming more than fifteen owned or rented hectares"

    Is this sentence still accurate? I'm missing something with Grower Producers owning as much as 28ha like Gimonnet.

  • Hi I've been living in Champagne for a year, and I work closely with the Special Club members! There are currently only 27 members of Special Club, and recently they have been allowed to adapt and personalize their special club labels. For example Pierre Gimmonet's more current label is metallic with raised black lettering. However, the labels all remain in the color confines of white, black, gold, and silver. 

    I love guildsomm! 

  • in reply to user20078

    Hi Kathryn, Both numbers are correct. Champagne is fairly large. (The Aube is much farther from Reims than you think it is.) In the southern part of Champagne the latitude is closer to the 48°; in the northern part it's closer to the 49°. I've amended the guide to include both figures. 

  • This states that Champagne is on the 48th parallel, however the intro somm workbook states the 49th.

  • in reply to user5140

    Hi Sandeep, The Gyropalette is French, but it's based off of the Spanish machine, the Girasol. This is confusing because there was patent filed in 1968, but this was not a patent for the Gyropalette; it was a patent for a wire cage that would allow many bottles to be turned at once. After this "idea" was patented it took several years  before it was fully developed. The main difference between the Girasol and the Gyro is that the former still required a person to run the machine, while the latter was fully automated. The Spanish were using this Girasol as early as the 1970s while the Gyropalette wasn't being used in France until the late 1970s. 

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