Champagne - the Basics

Question 1

What is the CIVC?

Answer 1

Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de
Champagne

Question 2

What is the new name of the CIVC?

Answer 2

Comité Champagne

Question 3

What important function does the Comité Champagne serve?

Answer 3

ensure ‘champagne ‘ traditional method wine with grapes grown in the champagne region of France

Question 4

Name the 9 Styles of champagne

Answer 4

Rosé, vintage , non vintage, late disgorged, prestige cuvee, blanc de blanc, blanc de noirs, grand cru premier cru

Question 5

What are the ways in which rosé can be made?

Answer 5

1) Blending white and red wines
2) Allowing short skim maceration of red grapes before juice is bled off

Question 6

What is rosé de assemblage?

Answer 6

blending white and red to make rosé

Question 7

What is rosé de saignée?

Answer 7

macerating red grapes and removing the juice to make sparkling wine

Question 8

What is the character of a blanc de blancs wine when young? Does it age?

Answer 8

• lean and austere when young
• high ageing potential

Question 9

How does the character (aroma, body, agreeability) of blanc de noirs differ from blanc de blancs?

Answer 9

it has red fruit flavors, a fuller body and ages more rapidly

Question 10

Name three outstanding years for vintage champagne production

Answer 10

1996, 2002, 2008

Question 11

What is a vintage champagne? How does it differ from a non vintage champagne in terms of style

Answer 11

• Vintage champagnes use only grapes grown in a single year on the label. They may follow a house style but still reflect the unique conditions of the vintage year
• Non vintage champagne is a blend of grapes from different years. These wines tend to reflect the house style

Question 12

Are vintage wines made annually?

Answer 12

no. Only in the ‘best years’ are vintage champagnes made. Different champagne houses may put their production behind different years

Question 13

What are prestige cuvees and are they always vintage wines?

Answer 13

These are the best quality wines made by a champagne producer. Krug specialises in making a range of prestige cuvees which may be vintage or non vintage

Question 14

What is a late release wine (LRW)? How does it differ of an earlier disgorged wine of the same vintage?

Answer 14

• A champagne left on the lees for an extended period and disgorged just before release on the market.
• Late disgorged champagne is more youthful than its counterpart but ages more rapidly due to the ingress of oxygen at disgorgement having a more marked effect on older wines

Question 15

Name two examples of Late Release Wines

Answer 15

Dom Perignon P2 and Bollinger R.D.

Question 16

Name the rosé only AOC in champagne and where it is located

Answer 16

AOC Rosé des Riceys in the Cote de Bar

Question 17

AOC Coteaux de Champenois produces what sorts of wines?

Answer 17

red, white and rose