Drinking Champagne in Champagne
Read this before you go.
Not just a drink, Champagne is a region full of history and beauty. From Epernay to Reims, you may find cozy little producers and famous Champagne houses like Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon. The soil of the land is one of the most expansive in viticulture France. Champagne produces more than 200 million bottles of its fancy liquid a year.
Being in Champagne is pleasing itself. The place is full of charming sites to get lost. We advise you to walk around some of the numerous vines and enjoy your time, just appreciating the moment. If you travel by car, you may enjoy bringing a bike to ride around. You do not need, necessarily, to follow the Champagne route. Sometimes, it is nice to arrive at a place you were not expecting; and find new and different cozy producers. Don't run! Like the drink, Champagne needs to be appreciated.
If you want to visit a particular champagne house or producer, bear in mind some require you to make an appointment. We advise you to contact them before you travel.
On the map below, we show you the way from Reims to Épernay. You can also find some of the most famous houses.
About 80 in 5.000 independent producers tried to be in the Route du Champagne. If you wish to follow the route, signs are everywhere to help. Some little cute villages and vineyards like Bouzy, Verzy, and Rilly-la-Montage are lovely places to stop or go for a bike ride.
Historic Epiphany
In Reims, you find a gothic Notre Dame Cathedral where French kings have been crowned for more than 1000 years (from 815). It is not difficult to guess the drink they were using to celebrate these events.
Notre-Dame in Reims
The name Champagne was given by the Romans. It originates from Latin. The Romans found the region similar to the Italian countryside of Campania. They arrived in the 5th century and stayed there for more than 500 years.
Champagne is a cold region. In old times, bottles were exploding, and people did not know why. During winter, the fermentation inside the bottle stops and continues in spring. With the warmth, the atmospheric pressure is more potent. Therefore, bottles ended up breaking. For this reason, the French started to storage Champagne bottles under the earth, where the temperature remains constant.
A considerable part of the attraction in Champagne is under the earth in caves and cellars. Initially created by the Romans, the caves and cellars were used to obtain construction materials. More recently, in WW1 and 2, the caves became schools, hospitals, and shelters. The attack in Reims was strong during both wars. Some authors dare to say that part of Champagne's taste is because the land was soaked in blood.
It is worth mentioning that the vineyards were spared in WW2. Nazi Germany was especially interested in Champagne wine. They had "wine managers" who were taking around 400 000 bottles of Champagne to Germany. Germans stocked the drink to sell or to drink themselves. They wanted to steal French liquid cold, as they said themselves.
The reconstruction that came after WW2 brought its problems and solutions. Champagne was lacking manpower. However, this enabled Champagne to focus on better mechanization for the work.
The Taste and Price of Champagne
Why is it expansive?
The Soil
The soil in Champagne is more expensive than in Bordeaux or any other place in Europe. Its terroir is unique, and chalk is its main characteristic. The location of the province was an inland sea about 70 million years ago. Nowadays, because of the fossils, the soil is rich in lime and calcite. This created the chalk soil we know, which is soft in the subsoil. We suggest you touch it when visiting the wine caves. Feel the texture in your hands. The chalk allows vine roots to dig deeper and unrestricted. This same soil hardens in contact with air. The fossils of sea creatures in Champagne bring to its chalk a high amount of belemnite and micraster marls.
The Grapes
The primary grapes used for Champagne are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. But grapes are not cheap. In Champagne, 90% of the land is under small producers' control instead of big champagne houses. They have a significant influence and a strong syndicate. This all gives them the power to negotiate the price.
Moreover, not all domains in Champagne are ideal regarding the soil and climate, which leave us with less ground to cultivate wine. This all contributes to the high price of grapes.
Can you guess which grape is this?
The Regulation
In Champagne, everything is regulated by law, including the harvest date. This gives people less freedom to choose what to do. The entire harvest is manual and must be performed quickly. The pressing is also defined by law. The pressing must be very soft, so we do not have tannins in our wine. The contact with grape skin is avoided. No other place in the world has such a strong regulation to follow.
First pressing: In 4000kg of grapes, producers can take only 2050 L of juice. This is much less than in many places around Europe. In other sites, you may press the grape as much as you desire.
The juice from this first pressing is the cuvée. This juice is rich in sugar, tartaric, and malic acid. The next 500L is called the taille. It is also rich in sugar but with less acidity and mineral content.
The quantity you can harvest and when you can harvest is also controlled. From scratch to the final stage in bottles, producing Champagne is costly and complex. And some producers use only the cuvée for their Champagne. This has a substantial impact on the price.
Blocage reserve: Wine houses must keep from 15% to 20% of their annual production in good years. The idea is to have something stored when a bad year comes.
Storage
The wine takes months to be ready to sell. It spends at least 15 months in contact with yeasts and 3 months in the bottle. Let’s add to it the cost of energy, workers, etc. You will see Champagne is not a cheap thing to do. The basic Champagne will take longer than many Bordeaux wines to be produced.
Marketing
The price to keep Champagne as a luxurious drink requires good marketing. It increases its cost.
Final Costs and Considerations
Some final prices include the bottle and its accessories like the cork.
It is reasonable to buy a Champagne for around 30 euros in Europe. It is a fair and not expensive price. Suspect of cheap Champagne wines you may see at the supermarket.
The Science Behind Champagne
Let's talk about Sciences, starting with Nicolas Théodore de Saussure (1967 - 1845). He was a swiss plant physiology chemist and prominent in photosynthesis study. And yes! Photosynthesis matter here!
H2O, CO2, and sunlight are responsible for helping grapes to keep sugar inside. This explains why an entire crop can be lost when we have hail and frost, even when grapes are not apparently affected.
Another essential scientist was Louis Pasteur. He was a French biologist, microbiologist, and chemist. Thanks to his studies in fermentation, people were able to understand the Champagne drink. The yeast is responsible for consuming sugar, producing alcohol, and CO2.
We can understand the role of photosynthesis for grapes and the importance of fermentation because of these discoveries. If we know how something works, it is easier to intervene in the process when necessary.
How Champagne Is Made?
Méthode Champenoise
Champagne goes through different steps of fermentation.
The first fermentation transforms grapes into wine once yeast consumes the natural grape sugar. This is known as alcoholic fermentation. It happens right after pressing and takes place in oak or controlled stainless-steel vats.
After the primary fermentation, Malic acids can be converted into Latic acids. It makes Champagne lighter, and the acidity is subtle. Some producers prefer to skip this step. It takes from 4 to 6 weeks if done.
A second fermentation, The liqueur tirage, must happen. This time, inside the bottle. It is added yeast, sugar, and nutrients (usually Nitrogen) into the bottle. This fermentation can continue from 6 to 8 weeks. Yeasts consume the sugar creating the bubbles we see in Champagne. Nitrogen is responsible for the bubbles. This final fermentation leaves us with alcohol and CO2 as a final product inside the bottle.
After the sugar is eaten by the yeasts, they die and stay at the bottle's bottom. Yeast's autolysis starts, generating the brioche, bread, toast, and yeast aroma so characteristic of Champagne. The more the Champagne is in contact with the yeast, the smaller/slim are the bubbles.
To conclude the process, the wine must be free of its sediments. This is known as the degorgement. The bottles are put into a cold brine solution and get frozen. The iced pellet leaves due to the pressure coming from Carbon Dioxide. Our precious liquid is finally clean. A small part of the wine is wasted. However, this is when the "liqueur d' expedition" is added, a wine and sugar solution. This mixture helps to balance the acidity. Here is when we will decide if our Champagne will be Brut, Extra Brut, Extra Sec, Extra Dry, etc.
Part of the wine reserved from previous years can be used, enriching the taste of the Champagne. Some producers add vintage wines from 10 to 20 years ago to blend with their actual wine. A Champagne using reserve wines from 2 to 12 years is considered normal.
The assemblage can also be done using different vintage samples of wines. Famous houses can use from 200 to 600 samples of vintage wine in their basic wine. This mixture also enables producers to keep their style. Each year, we have different characteristics in soil and weather. A good technique must be applied, so the house can keep its essence in taste and fragrance.
Styles of Champagne
Champagnes can either be OXIDATIVE OR REDUCTIVE.
Don't worry! We will explain everything.
Through an Oxidative method, the Champagne stays in contact with air. Wood is used, which allows air to go through, causing micro-oxygenation.
The characteristic of this wine changes in time. We may find dry fruits and caramel notes. An example of a wine coming from this method is Bollinger 007.
Through the Reductive method, the wine has no contact with oxygen. Stainless steel tanks are used instead of wood. These wines are fresh, young, and floral. Ruinart, the oldest Champagne house in the region, uses this method.
A famous house using the Oxidative Method: Viuvet Cliquot
A famous house using the Reductive Method: Moët & Chandon
What is "Cuvees de Prestige"?
The cuvees de prestige is simply the title representing the best expression of a wine house. Some of them, like the famous Dom Pérignon, ended up being a brand. Released in 1936, using the 1921 crop from Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon was the first cuvée de prestige in history.
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