Know all the terms to master the subtleties of sparkling wine,

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AOC Champagne : Defines the four areas of Origin Controlled Champagne :
The mountain of Reims (department of the Marne): a good part of the mountain is exposed to the south, the hills are located on soils whose chalk is deeply buried. The main vine is the black pinot.
The valley of the Marne (Marne, Aisne and Seine-et-Marne): the hills are located on predominantly argilo-calcaire soils, with a marneuse tendency. The main vine is the pinot meunier.
The White Coast (Marne): As the name suggests, the Chardonnay reigns in this region. The sliding chalk is everywhere, a true reservoir of water and heat from the basements.
The Aube vineyard, located on the coast of the Bars (Bar-sur-Aube and Bar-sur-Seine in the Aube): the marnous-looking basements are mainly planted with black pinot. The champagnes of the Côte des Bars are wines of character, beautiful roundness and complex aromas.
The area AOC of champagne date of the 20th century by a law of 22 july 1927 establishing a precise delimitation of wine champagne

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Acidity: acidity in the champagne must be measured, it can bring freshness (balance) or be excessive and acerbic.

Lactic acid: Absent of must, are apparitions during malolactic fermentation by degradation of malic acid. The must becomes less acidic, which explains the flexibility of the wines undergoing malolactic fermentation.

Aignes: After the pressing res grapes it reveals the solid elements of the cluster. It is therefore composed of rafles, grape skins and pepins. The ignes can be distilled and used to make the Marc de Champagne.

Anhydride Sulfureux : the sufferer (or SO2) is a chemical or organic element with antioxidant and antiseptic properties.
It is a protection of champagne to avoid during the manufacturing process of attacks of harmful bacteria. It also serves as a stabilizer for the bottle. Some rare champagnes are produced without SO2 like the Cuvée Variation du Champagne Fleury.

Ambonnay: wine village classified Grand Cru de Champagne, the Champagne Péhu Simonet is renowned for producing great champagnes on this terroir.

Accreditation: accreditation is the official authorization of the CIVC for the name Champagne of a bottle.

Staple: metal part fixing the lid to the bottle. the champagnes Henri Giraud created this tool to facilitate the opening of stapled bottles such as Champagne Giraud Fût de Chêne or Champagne Giraud Argonne.2° and 12.5°.

Alcohol: the alcoholic degree of champagne is between 12° and 12.5°.

Aromas: volatile compounds of champagne perceived by smell.

Arbanne: The Arbanne is a rare Champagne grape variety, it is part of the so-called "forgotten" grape varieties, it can be assembled to other grape varieties or used in mono-capage for champagne production.

Assembly: It's an art. It is about mixing quiet wines from different grape varieties (pinot meunier, pinot noir, chardonnay), different terroirs (villages, zones) and often from different years. The incorporation of older wines, called reserve wines, allows to bring greater aromatic complexity.

Avize: wine village classified Grand Cru de Champagne, located on the Côte des Blancs and famous for its Chardonnay.

Aÿ: Grand Cru de la Champagne village, the seat of prestigious Champagne houses such as Champagne Bollinger, Champagne Gosset, Champagne Henri Giraud.

Balthazar: bottle with a capacity of 12 L.

Barrel: It is a barrel with a capacity of 225 litres (barrique Bordeaux) or 228 litres (barrique bourguignonne) for many current Champagne producers. Yet, historically, the Champagne barrel is 205 liters. It is usually made of oak.

Building : This is the operation of stirring the lees in the barrels to put them in suspension.

Bidule: It is a kind of small plastic container moulded to ensure the stubbornness of the bottle after the draw and also serves as a waste picker formed during the foam socket. This can, to hold in the bottle, is then covered with a metal print capsule. He'll be removed when he's broken.

Belon: container that is located under the champagne press to make the stew disbursement.

Biodynamic: The foundations of biodynamic agriculture were laid by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), Austrian scientist and philosopher, founder of the method of knowledge he named anthroposophie (literally: man's wisdom).
One of the basic principles of biodynamic farming is self-sufficient management. Considering that the land is currently aged and sick of all pollution, biodynamic farming uses specific preparations of mineral, plant and animal origin aimed at making soil and plant again sensitive, receptive to the many subtle influences of the earth and sky. According to biodynamists, these preparations used at infinitesimal doses energize soil and compost or serve as a cure for cryptogamous diseases. The periods of work and use of the preparations are chosen according to the lunar cycles, the position of the constellations as well as the time of day. the Champagnes Fleury, Françoise Bedel, De Sousa and David Léclapart.

Bidule: plastic operculum ensuring the seal between the drawing capsule and the goulot used during the foam socket.

Biological: biology is a method of culture that prohibits synthetic chemicals.

White: champagne (silver or not) from the vinification of the chardonnay grape, whose first quality is freshness.

Black white: champagne from the vinification of red vines (pinot black and pinot meunier), whose pulp (not film) remains colourless.

Bouchonné : Says a champagne or a wine that has an unpleasant smell of cork (see also in the mouth), it is due to a cork disease.

Let's go champagne caps are made of cork, their mushroom form ensures a loss of gas from the bottle.

Botrytis: It is a mushroom that attacks the vine. It is a pest for the Champagne vineyard even though it is sometimes desired, in other regions in particular, for its production of noble rot necessary in certain liquorous wines.

Bourbes: The bourbes are the deposits of the grape must. It is a Gaulish name "boruo" defining muddy water (the very aspect of the Champagne bourbes)

Bourgeon: the vine giving birth to branches bearing flowers and fruits.

Bouquet: together olfactory sensations bringing together the primary aromas of youth, secondary of evolution, and tertiary of the apogee.

Bottle: the Champagne bottle comes in several formats: 1/4 bottle, half bottle (75cl) , Magnum (1.50L), Jéroboam (3L), Mathusalem (6 L), Salmanazar (9L), Balthazar (12L), Nabuchodonosor (15L).

Bouzy : Bouzy is a village classified Grand Cru de la Champagne and famous for its red wine and its champagnes from black pinot. Champagne Delavenne is a winemaker from Bouzy very appreciated by amateurs. flowers and fruits.

Brut: the Brut corresponds to a champagne whose liqueur is between 6 and 12 g/L, it is currently the most common and sold champagne.

Brut vintageimé : these champagnes are made from the wines of the same harvest, without adding reserve wines. They have the character of the specific geo-climatic data of the year. In principle, only exceptional years are vintage; the decision to vintage or not belongs to each brand.

Rise sound: They are obtained by adding red wine A.O.C. Champagne hillsides in a classical assembly, or by means of a rosé vinification, by maceration of black grapes. This last method is more sophisticated.

Capsule-congé : Called a "CRD", a representative Capsule of Rights, it is a seal affixed to the tin of the bottle indicating that the rights (taxes...) of wine transport have been paid.

Drawing capsule: Metal cuff that closes the attached bottle during the draw. It is used to hold the pressure during the foam grip and it is removed during the break of the bottle after aging in the cellar.

Capsule: It is the metal plate of the muselet, it is often decorated and customized by each producer and therefore sought by collectors by their rarity and diversity.

Caudalie: Measuring the aromatic persistence of a wine: 1s of persistence = 1 caudalie.

Cep: it's the "corp" of the vine foot.

Grapes: The 3 varieties authorized for the AOC Champagne are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot meunier. Of their difference will be the many flavours of champagne. There are more than 6,000 vines around the world,

Circle: name given in Champagne to a winery.

Chaptalization: It is an operation that serves to add sugar in the musts, it was recommended by the Chemist Chaptal (1756-1832) This process is very regulated by law, its use varies according to the quality of the years.

CIVC: Abbreviation of Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins de Champagne. It is an official structure responsible for defining the policy of the Champagne winemakers and the Champagne houses, in particular in terms of organisation and transparency of relations, constant concern of quality, valorization and protection of the appellation Champagne.

Clarification: It is a technique to rid the wine of any impurity of the sequences of fermentations.

Chardonnay: Chardonnay is a variety of white-skinned vine, very famous on the Côte des Blancs to produce champagnes of great finesse. Dom Ruinart is a Blanc de Blanc de Blanc de grande renowned on this terroir. In the Aube the terroir of Montgueux is also very famous for the production of its chardonnay, as evidenced by the Champagne Beaugrand.

Gross Champagne: also known as "birth without year" or "birth not vintage", it is a champagne whose dosage, after the defrosting, is less than 15 g/l of residual sugars. It is the majority of the so-called classic or traditional champagnes, obtained from the assembly of the three authorized vines, chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier, from different plots or even from different years (reserve wines). Assemblies can therefore vary according to the choice of criteria selected by each brand (maison de champagne ou vigneron). This is what is called the style or signature of the brand.

Clarification: Operation to make wine clear and clear. In addition to the natural sedimentation of the lees and particles suspended in a wine, it is obtained by collage and filtering with the aim of making the wine limpid. Collage is done by adding proteins, such as beaten egg white, which will flake with other suspended proteins. The new compound formed, heavier, will naturally precipitate in the bottom of the tank. A soft filtration can also, by mechanical action, contribute at the end of breeding to the final clarification.

Clayette: it's a sort of a dish basket of osier or we dumped the small baskets of grapes sold and where the grapes were sorted.

Cochelet: It's the party that closes the vintages in champagne.

Cuvée Heart: During the first pressurization, it is the selection of the best juices during their flow.

Cooperative: a cooperative is a grouping of vinifying winemakers in one and only place of production (shared winemaking tools). Champagne Le Mesnil comes from the cooperative of the same village classified Grand Cru.

Col: the upper part of the bottle, the term serves as a unit to determine the number of bottles marketed.

CM: logo used in Champagne to designate a Coopérative de Manipulation developing under its own brand champagnes from different producers.

Côteaux Champenois : Champagne can also produce quiet wines, which can be white, rosé, or red.

Craie: sedimentary rock very present in Champagne bringing finesse and minerality; many cuvées of champagne reclaim this name: Champagne Henri Giraud chalk white.

Crus: A term used for the identification of a champagne at the specified place of production, relative to a soil, its terroir. In Champagne, 2 Crus exist and are defined by village:
The 17 Grand Crus are: Ambonnay, Avize, Ay, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Bouzy, Chouilly, Cramant, Louvois, Mailly-Champagne, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry, Puisieulx, Sillery, Tours-sur-Marne, Verzenay and Verzy.
Les 44 Premiers Crus sont : Avenay, Bergères-les-Vertus, Bezannes, Billy le Grand, Bisseuil, Chamery, Champillon, Chigny les Roses, Chouilly (PN), Coligny (CH), Cormontreuil, Coulommes la Montagne, Cuis, Cumières, Dizydom, Ecueil, Etrechy (CH), Grauves.

The reasons for the classification are mainly the market value of the grapes produced and their quality. Compared to the basic price decided for the whole of Champagne by the interprofessional, the real price per kilo will be fixed between 80% and 89% of the base price for raw grapes, between 90% and 99% for the First Crus and 100% for the Grand Crus.

Special shells: crude champagnes, vintage or not, which distinguish themselves from the basic productions of each brand by a particular blend, a longer aging, a special bottle and a more refined dressing. Their name evokes the history of the house: "Grande Cuvée 169e Edition (Large Cuvée 169e Edition)Krug)", or "Spécial Cuvée" of Champagne Bollinger, for example.

Disbursement: After the pressing, the must obtained is left to rest for 12 to 15 hours. This rest allows the debris of pellicles, seeds and other solids to deposit at the bottom of the tank. The must will then be removed and sent to another tank. The wines from stewed musts win in finesse and frankness. The disbursement also allows to eliminate part of the iron and to delay the fermentation departures too vivid.

Debrasion: Manual or mechanical method that eliminates the deposit of yeasts and fermentation of the bottles, after having collected it in the can, leaving the bottles "on top" (header down) for several weeks or months. There are two methods of disgorgement:
- The decay on the fly is by which the overpressure of gas expels the deposit from the opening of the bottle, it is the traditional method but it is less and less used by its risk of making "blue" the bottle...
- The ice jam, the collars of the bottles are cooled in a liquid bin at -28° in order to freeze the deposit in the can, the supression releases this part of ice without risk.

Half-Sec: a semi-sec champagne containing 33 to 50 Grams of Liqueurs. Ideal sweet Champagne on desserts. Champagne Yann Alexandre produces a Demi Sec Cuvée Sucré Noir with a beautiful balance.

Half-muid: It is a half-waste for a capacity of about 600 litres.

Stapler: tool intended to remove the staples from the bottled champagnes. La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La House Henri Giraud created a scraper to facilitate the opening of its cuvées Fût de Chêne d'Argonne MV 17 .

Depointing: Take action to remove the bottles on tip (teet down) from the remuting desks.

Deposit: Lies or deposit of matter that is removed from the bottle by the remediation and the decay.

Depointed wines: They are tète bottles downstairs whose process of descent from the deposit to the collar of the bottle is over, so we can dispose of it for the decay and then its sale.

Disconnection: Action to destock the bottles of the piles in the cellars to prepare them for remuting.

Dosage: the final phase of the development of a champagne, after the expulsion of the lees (degorgement), the dosage is the addition of a so-called dosing or shipping liquor, intended to complete the level of the bottle. Most often it is wine added with sugar to soften acidity. Depending on the dosage, a raw, dry, half-sec or soft champagne is obtained. In the past there was mention of a "half-low" category.

Sweet: a Champagne Doux contains more than 50 grams of Liqueur. The Champagne Delavenne produces the Cuvée L'Ile dosée à 32 Grammes, a true silky caresss without any heaviness. The liqueurs used for this champagne are more than 10 years old.

Gross extra: champagne with very few residual sugars, between 0 and 6 g/l. When there is no added sugar, it is called raw, raw, crude, zero or non-dose. He's an expert amateur champagne.

Extra Sec or Extra Dry: a Champagne Extra Sec or Extra Dry contains 12 to 17 grams of liqueur.

Burgling: an operation that consists of eliminating all non-frucrative buds in order to control the yields and quality of the grapes.

Interference: in Champagne bottle setting operation on lattes.

Alcoolic fermentation: processing of sugars by yeasts in alcohol.

Malolactic fermentation: transformation of malic acid into lactic acid making wine more supple. Some champagnes undergo this fermentation, others in order to keep more freshness do not suffer it.

Filtration: Filtration is the elimination of troublesome materials in champagne.

Footsteps: A free foot is an old vine with uncapped vines.

Grand Cru: Only a few communes in Champagne are classified Grand Cru in total. This means that for these seventeen communes, the grapes are paid 100% of the rating.

Gyropalette:: Wine remuting is done only very rarely manually. A mechanical and computerized switch is thus made on Gyropalette.

Jeroboam: a Jeroboam is a bottle of a capacity of 3 Litres.

Levure: microorganism contained in the skin of grapes allowing alcoholic fermentation. We speak of native yeast for that specific to the variety of grapes and exogenous for yeasts coming from outside.

Place: It is found everywhere in France but the place-dit is in Champagne the name of a plot.

Liqueur de tirage : It is a mixture of yeast and sugar added to the quiet wine to allow for a second fermentation.

Marc: solid residue obtained after pressing the grapes, it is often intended for distillation for its water-of-life processing, the marc of champagne.

Maceration: It is a process of macerate the solid parts of the grape clusters with the must in the press.

Taste: This is the grape juice obtained by pressing. In Champagne as elsewhere, the must is referred to as wine in fermentation.

Muselet: metal part now the champagne cap on its bottle.

Mildiou: disease caused by micro-organisms (pseudo-champion) that destroy the grapes of the vine.

Millésime : A vintage in Champagne can only be so if the basic wines are from the same year; The wine must also age three years on its lees before the sale.

Manipulating dealer: the manipulating merchant develops his own champagne from vintages purchased in addition to his own vintages. The large champagne houses have the status of manipulative merchant (NM) with vineyards in their own name and grape purchases for supplements.

Paltage: this operation which takes place in june allows to separate the branches between them in order to avoid the cupping of the leaves and promote good ventilation and good photosynthesis.

Little Meslier:The little Meslier is an old vine of Champagne. It is sometimes exploited by some houses.

Pinot Blanc :It is a certified Champagne vine used in the wines of assembly.

Pinot Meunier:The pinot meunier is a very exploited red vine since it is one of the three principals of Champagne.

Pinot Noir : Very clearly the first vine used in Champagne.

First Cru: Communes classified between 90% and 99%. So the grapes that come from them are 90% to 99% on the scale of the raw.

First cuvée: Prepared from the first pressing of the grape.

Ratafia: the champagne ratafia is obtained from fresh grape must mixed with champagne-life water.

Manipulant (RM): winemaker creating his own champagne from his own vineyards. The vinegar champagnes are for the most part registered under the name Harvester Manipulant.

Rebèche: This is the juice remaining in the press after the pressing of the first cuvée and the size.

Reserve: (vin de) This is the quiet wine of an earlier year used to assemble a non-coloured champagne. This allows to maintain gustative homogeneities, especially for the largest vineyards.

Perpetual reserve: Method of conservation of reserve wine in Champagne.

Breeding: operation that consists of raising the branches of the vine to keep them vertically.

Remedies: This is the movement given to the Champagne bottles to direct the deposit to the goulot.

Rognage: it is a summer size that allows to favor fructification on vegetation.

Sabrer: opening of a bottle of champagne by striking the goulot with a sword.

Salmanazar: 9-litre bottle.

Spider: This is a process used for the rosé wine of Champagne. The skins and grape juice macerate together for up to three days.

No Year: The champagne not vintage.

Solera: It is a method of aging wine by using the reserve wine or the perpetual reserve.

Under cork: During the second fermentation, cork caps are used instead of metal capsules.

On the boots: After the draw, the bottles are stored in chalk cellars (usually) pending second fermentation. Mechanical pallets are also used today.

On Pointe : This is the action of placing the bottles without defrauding on a support with the goulot down.

Size: regulated way to discipline the vine by size.

Terroir : soil and basement. Their exposure and environment are critical.

Shooting: This is the bottle of the cuvée. The draw liqueur facilitates the second fermentation. A draw takes place from 1 January following the harvest.

Tonneau: A 300 or 500 litre drum.

Transvasage: It is the filling of the Campaign bottles.

Clear wine: This is the wine from the first fermentation. There are two synonyms here: Quiet wine or basic wine.

Cheap Champagne

Deguster champagne

Vocabulary links to champagne

Vocabulary clean of champagne

Vocabulary aromas of champagne

Vocabulary links to champagne

Vocabulary clean of champagne

Cave ruinart

  • To open it bottle, slightly incline the bottle and clear the curl of the muselet

  • Then remove the muselet and its dressing together while maintaining the cap and avoiding placing the trajectory of the cap in the direction of a guest.

  • Then, always holding the cap firmly, grab the body of the bottle and turn it to gently clear the cap of the goulot without letting it escape.

Well Before tasting, there is a lot of preliminary steps to follow for a successful champagne tasting.

First of all, let's focus on the service temperature. In our case, as we wish to focus on the aromas of champagne to be able to describe it, it is best to serve it at cellar temperature, 12°C.

Then comes the opening. Being an effervescent wine, a bottle of champagne contains 6 pressure bars, so its opening must be done with attention. To do this, it is a matter of holding the cap firmly on one hand while delicately turning the bottle on the other. The pressure will naturally push the cap and, in this way, you should hear a "pshit" and not a large "pop" that might make champagne foam.

Come after the glass choice. If the possibilities are numerous, the best choice remains a wide glass with a narrow collar, like a white wine glass. It will allow a better ventilation without venting it while allowing the distribution of the optimal aromas.

have similarities, there are some differences between biodynamic and natural champagne and organic champagne.

RM: manipulating harvester, which, from the grapes of its property, develops and markets its champagne under his mark. NM: trading manipulative, who buys the grapes that complement its harvests, ensures the development of champagne in its own premises and commercialize it

The standard bottle or Champenoise : 75 cl

The Magnum: 1.5 l (2 bottles of Champagne)

Jeroboam: 3 l (4 bottles of Champagne)

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