Champagne Flashcards
1
Q
Where is Champagne located in relation to Paris?
A
90 miles (145 km) east of Paris
2
Q
How many bottles a year are produced in Champagne?
A
300,000,000
3
Q
How much of France’s wine revenue does Champagne account for?
A
20%
4
Q
What is the most important factor of terroir determining Champagnes unique qualities in sparkling wine compared to the rest of the world?
A
Climate & location
Its northern position and cool climate allows the grapes to achieve ripeness at a low ABV and high acidity level.
5
Q
What hills seperate Champagne from Belgium?
A
The forested Ardennes
6
Q
What 5 departments fall within the Champagne AOC?
A
Marne, Aube, Aisne, Haute-Marne, Seine-et-Marne
7
Q
What is the dominant soil in the Aube?
A
Clay
8
Q
What soil lies on top of most chalk soils found in Champagne?
A
Clay/Sand
9
Q
What type of chalk is found mostly on the slopes of Champagne? What types of fossils form it?
A
Belemnite Chalk
Fossilized Chephalapods
10
Q
What benefits do chalky soils provide?
A
Good drainage & heat retention
11
Q
What type of chalk is found mostly on the valley floor in Champagne? What types of fossils form it?
A
Micraster chalk
Fossilized sea urchins/starfish
12
Q
Where is Champagne located based on latitude?
A
Between the 48th & 49th parallels
13
Q
What does CIVC stand for?
A
Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne
14
Q
When was Chardonnay first listed as an official variety in Champagne?
A
2010
15
Q
What grape in Champagne has the earliest bud burst?
A
Chardonnay
16
Q
What are the 4 synonyms for Pinot Noir in Champagne?
A
Plant Doré, Morillon, Noirien & Auvernat
17
Q
What is the average lost of harvest per year in Champagne due to hail/frost?
A
5% per year
18
Q
What are the 7 grape varities of Champagne?
A
Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
Meunier
Arbanne
Fromenteau
Petit Meslier
Pinot Blanc
19
Q
How many hectares in Champagne are dedicated for the 4 alternative white varieties?
A
Around 103 hectares or less than 0.3% of the Champagne vineyard
20
Q
Which two people are credited with the revival of Arbanne?
A
Lucien Moutard: replanted in his vineyards in 1952
Henry Maréchaux (Moutard’s Grandfather): maintained cuttings in his nursery since 1900
21
Q
Who makes ‘Arbane’ Pure?
A
Olivier Horiot
22
Q
Who makes ‘Cépage Arbane’?
A
Moutard
23
Q
What is the name for Pinot Gris in Champagne?
A
Fromenteau
24
Q
What is Dérot-Delugny’s 100% Fromenteau Cuvée?
A
Cuvée des Fondateurs
25
Who makes this 100% Fromenteau Cuvée?
Trop M’en Faut!
Drappier
26
What are the parents of Petit Meslier?
Gouais Blanc × Savagnin Blanc
27
Where the traditional home for Petit Meslier?
The Aube
28
Who is mainly responsible for the revival of Petit Meslier? What lieu dit and town did they grow it?
The Chiquet family (Jaquesson)
Corne Bautry, Dizy, Grande Vallée de la Marne
29
What important role has Petit Meslier historically played in Champagne blends?
Acidity and low alcohol
30
What is Duval-Leroy's 100% Petit Meslier Cuvée? What is the original name?
'Petit Meslier'
Authentis
31
What region in Champagne were Pinot Blanc plantings historically concentrated?
The Côtes des Blancs
32
What grape is the Laherte Cuvee?
Petit Meslier
33
Who makes this 100% Pinot Blanc Cuvée?
Colas Robins
Piollot
34
Who makes this 100% Pinot Blanc Cuvée?
Cuvée des Lys
Phillippe Fontaine
35
Who makes this 100% Pinot Blanc Cuvée?
Cuvée Heritage
Emanuel Tassin
36
What is Charles Dufor's 100% Pinot Blanc Cuvée?
Le Champ du Clos
37
What is Pierre Gerbais' 100% Pinot Blanc Cuvée?
'L'Originale'
38
What is Cedric Bouchard's 100% Pinot Blanc Cuvée?
La Bolorée
39
What are the 7 main sub-regions of Champagne?
Montage de Reims, Côte des Blancs, Marne Valley, Côte des Bar, Coteaux du Morin, Côte de Sézanne, Vitryat, Montgueux
40
What are the 6 subdistricts of the Montagne de Reims?
Grande Montagne; Massif de Saint-Thierry; Monts de Berru; Ardre Valley, Vesle Valley, and City of Reims
41
Where are the Monts de Berru located in relation to Reims?
East of the city
42
What are the 10 Grand Cru villages located in the Grande Montagne?
Ambonnay
Beaumont-sur-Vesle
Bouzy
Louvois
Mailly-Champagne
Puisieulx
Sillery
Tours-sur-Marne
Verzenay
Verzy
43
What is this & where is it?
Moulin de Verzenay
Near Verzenay
44
What are the 3 microzones of the Grande Montagne?
Northern Montagne, the Eastern Montagne, and the Southern Montagne
45
In and between what villages is the Northern Montagne of the Grand Montagne located?
From Villers-Allerand to Verzenay
46
What climate effect protects the vines on the Northern Montagne of the Grande Montagne?
Describe this effect:
Thermal blanket
Because the Grande Montagne is a freestanding formation, the chilled night air slips away, down the slopes onto the plain. As it does so, it draws warmer air from a thermal zone that builds up above the forested Montagne during the day. As the cold air moves down the slopes each night, it collects in dips on the lower slopes.
47
What is the main grape cultivated in the Grande Montagne? What villages are the exceptions & what grape do they grow?
Pinot Noir
Trépail & Villers-Mamery: Chardonnay
48
In and between what villages is the Eastern Montagne of the Grand Montagne located?
From Verzy to Trépail
49
What two villages are located east and at the foot of the Grande Montagne & are wholly disconected from the slope? What grape do they mainly grow?
Billy-Le-Grand
Vaudemange
Chardonnay
50
In and between what villages is the Southern Montagne of the Grand Montagne located?
Ambonnay to Tours-sur-Marne
51
What are the general differences between the wines of the Northern Montagne vs the Southern Montagne?
Generally the fruit from the Southern Montagne is more complex than that of the Northern Montagne, which is more linear, with greater minerality, despite the Southern Montagne's higher chalk content.
52
Define Lignite soil:
A soft, dark brown, sedimentary rock
53
Define cendrières:
French for Lignite mine
54
What do the top soils of the Grande Montagne primarily consist of?
Loess drift that has been derived from sandy and clayey lignite, chalk rubble, and clayey colluvium.
55
What type of soil do the vineyards surrounding the Moulin de Verzenay lie on?
Sandy Limestone
56
What subregion does the Massif de Saint-Thierry usually associated with?
The Petite Montagne
57
What are the soils of the Massif de Saint-Thierry that seperate it from the rest of the region?
Yellowish and greenish-white calcareous sand interbedded in a strata of Lutetian limestone-not chalk.
58
What is the most famous vineyard of the Massif de Saint-Thierry & what wine was it famous for in the early 19th century?
Clos de Saint-Thierry
Still red wine
59
Where in the Monts de Berru located in relation to Reims?
A few kms east
60
What is the most planted grape in the Monts de Berru?
Chardonnay
61
Where is Moronvilliers located? What subregion is it considered a part of?
East of the Monts de Berru
The Monts de Berru
62
What villages are vines planted in Moronvilliers? What grapes do the specialize in? Who owns these vineyards?
Selles - Meunier
Pontfaverger-Moronvilliers - Chardonnay
Moët & Chandon
63
What is the main variety planted in the Adre Valley, Montagne de Reims?
Meunier
64
What is considered the finest sites in the Ardre Valley? Why?
Courmas
It has southwest facing slopes
65
What are the most important vineyards in the Ardre valley collectively known as? What is this generally defined as?
The Petite Montagne
From Vrigny to Sermiers
66
What grape has been historically the most important in the Ardre Valley? What varieties increase in concentration in the Petite Montagne?
Meunier
Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
67
Where are finest sites in the Ardre Valley? What is their aspect?
The slope of Courmas
Southwest facing
68
In and between what villages is generally considered the Petite Montagne?
Vrigny to Sermiers
69
What grapes are mainly planted in the Petite Montagne? What grape dominated plantings historically?
Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
Meunier
70
Where does the Vesle Valley lie in relation to the Massif de Saint-Thierry?
South
71
In what subdistrict is Pommery's Clos Pompadour located?
City of Reims
72
Who owns the most vines planted in the subdistrict of the City of Reims?
Pommery
73
What are the 2 most famous vineyards located in the subdistrict of the city of Reims?
Clos Lanson - Lanson
Clos Pompadour - Pommery
74
In what subdistrict is Lanson's Clos Lanson vineyard located?
City of Reims
75
Describe the general path of the Marn River as it enters & exits the Champagne AOC:
The Marne River enters Champagne AOC at Vitryat, in the east of the region, flowing northward to Châlons-en-Champagne, then west through the heart of the Champagne region before exiting at Saâcy-sur-Marne, just 36 kilometers (22 miles) from the outskirts of Paris.
76
What are the six subdistricts of the Marne Valley?
Grande Vallée
Région d’Épernay
Terroir de Condé
Western Marne Valley
Right Bank
Left Bank
77
Describe the top soil found in the Marne Valley:
The topsoil here is a colluvial mix of marl, lignite, sandy loam, and clay and tends to be thick and heavy.
78
What is the main subsoil found in the eastern Marne Valley?
Belemnite chalk higher up the slopes
Becomes less prevelant as you head west
79
In and between what villages is the Grande Vallée of the Vallée de la Marne located?
Bisseuil to Cumières
80
What Grande Cru is located in the right bank vineyards of the Grande Vallée, Vallée de la Marne?
Aÿ
81
What is the most famous Premier Cru in the Grande Vallée, Vallée de la Marne?
Mareuil- sur-Aÿ
82
What is the first single-vineyard Champagne? What village is the vineyard located?
Philipponnant, Clos des Goisses
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Grande Vallée, Vallée de la Marne
83
What is another name used to refer to the Région d’Épernay?
Coteaux Sud d’Épernay
84
What is the most famous property in the Région d’Épernay?
Taittinger's Château de la Marquetterie
85
Who owns the Château de la Marquetterie? What village is it located in?
Taittinger
Pierry
86
What makes the plantings at Château de la Marquetterie unique?
La Marquetterie (“marquetry”) is named for the alternating plots of black and white grapes cultivated in response to the differences in soil composition.
87
What is the main department that the Western Marne Valley falls in?
The Aisne
88
What are the five widespread regions that the Côte des Blancs refers to?
Côte des Blancs, Montgueux, Côte de Sézanne, Coteaux du Morin, and Vitryat
89
What are the 6 Grand Crus of the Côte des Blancs?
Avize
Chouilly
Cramant
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Oger
Oiry
90
Describe the top soil of the Côte des Blancs:
A thin layers of sandy-clay rich in lignite
91
Describe the subsoil of the Côte des Blancs:
Belemnite chalk that turns more sandy at the bottom of the slope with some micraster at the edge of the slopes
92
What is the French term for blending?
Assemblage
93
What is the French name for secondary fermentation in traditional sparkling wine?
Prise de mousse
94
What is the average pressure of a bottle of Champagne?
90 psi
95
What is the proper name for a Champagne cage?
Muselet
96
Define Sur Latte:
The storing of bottles stacked on their sides, which is the most space-efficient method of storing champagne in the cellar. This is the way that champagnes are stored during the second fermentation and aging in the bottle, before they are put into riddling racks to prepare them for disgorgement.
97
Who made the first Brut Champagne & in what year?
Perrier-Jouët in 1848
98
What is the French term for riddling?
Remuage
