Champagne Quiz Flashcards
(110 cards)
1
Q
What parallel does Champagne lie?
A
Between 48 - 49.5 degrees
2
Q
What is the climate in Champagne?
A
Dual - Continental and Maritime
3
Q
What are weather threats?
A
Low temps
Frost
Hail
Fog
Rain
Humidity
4
Q
Soils of Champagne?
A
3 types
Chalk
Limestone
Sand/Clay
5
Q
What is the best chalk in Champagne?
A
Belemite
6
Q
What are the 2 types of chalk?
A
Belemite - dart like squid
Micraster - sea urchin
7
Q
What soils does Pinot Noir prefer?
A
Limestone rich marls
8
Q
What do clay soils produce?
A
Tight and taut wines that need aging
9
Q
What do sandy soil wins produce?
A
Easy drinking open wines that are fruit forward
10
Q
What is the most northern part of Champagne?
A
Massif de St-Thierry
11
Q
What is the most southern part of Champagne?
A
Les Riceys
12
Q
What type of chalk is found in the upper to mid vineyard slopes, and so is ideal for sun exposure and water drainage?
A
Belemite
13
Q
What is the name of the upland sub-region to the north of Épernay?
A
Montagne de Reims
14
Q
Who was baptised in Reims on Christmas Day 496, by Saint Remigius, the Bishop of Reims?
A
Clovis
15
Q
Which Champagne house can claim to be the oldest?
A
Ruinart
16
Q
What is the best root stock in Chalk soils?
A
41B keeps chlorosis eg iron deficiency away
17
Q
What training method is used exclusively for Meunier?
A
Vallée de la Marne training protects against frost
18
Q
What is the term for blending the various base wines – vins clairs – to create the cuvée?
A
Assemblage
19
Q
What names can be given for the mixture added to each bottle towards the end of the process that defines the champagne style?
A
Liqueur de Dosage
Liqueur d’Expedition
20
Q
Which champagne grape gives the least amount of acidity to a blend?
A
Pinot Noir
21
Q
What is the 3rd most planted grape in Champagne?
A
Chardonnay
22
Q
What is the ranking of grapes in Champagne?
A
- Pinot Noir 38%
- Meunier 32%
- Chardonnay 30%
23
Q
Name the AOCs in Champagne?
A
- Rosé des Riceys - PN 100%
- Coteaux Champenois - 2X production from Ricey
- Champagne AOC - Only sparkling
24
Q
Number of villages
Grand Cru
Premier Grand Cru
A
17
42
25
In which sub-region of Champagne is Rosé des Riceys produced?
Côte des Bar
26
What is the system for deciding whether a village is a Premier Cru, Grand Cru, or neither, called?
Échelle des Crus
26
What can Blanc de Noirs be made from?
Although Blanc de Noirs champagnes are most associated with Pinot Noir, Meunier can also be used – or they can be a blend of both.
27
Tirage
Bottling
27
Cuvee?
Used for both the purest part of the pressed juice and a blend.
27
Dégorgement
Removal of the yeast sediment from the bottle.
27
If your bottle of Champagne is made solely from grapes grown in the Côte des Blancs, what style of champagne are you most likely to be drinking?
Blanc de Blancs
since almost 100% Chardonnay grown there
28
What can Blanc de Blanc be made from
Chardonnay
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Gris
Arbanne
Petit Meslier
29
Vins Clairs
The still wines, after the first fermentation but before bottling – the base wines.
30
The solution of wine and sugar to sweeten champage?
Dosage
30
Blending the base wines
Assemblage
30
Machine and handpicked?
The AOC regulations state that grapes for champagne have to be picked by hand.
31
Turning, twisting, shaking and tilting the bottles to move the sediment to the neck
Remuage
32
Which French King championed champagne and is said to have drunk it with every meal?
Louis the XIV
33
Which Champagne sub-region has the same soils as those in Chablis – Kimmeridgean Marls?
Côte des Bar
34
Production Stages
1. Assemblage - blend
2. Tirage - bottle
3. Élevage - 2nd ferm
4. Rémuage - riddling
5. Dégorgement
6. Dosage
34
Vintage
12 months on the lees and 36 months in total, minimum.
34
Non-vintage
12 months on the lees and 15 months in total, minimum.
35
Pinot Noir adds:
Moderate ABV and lowest Acidity
35
In what type of vessel is most champagne fermented?
Stainless steel tanks
36
Chardonnay adds:
High ABV and Acidity
37
Why is the Champagne region relatively small?
The Champagne region is relatively small because the vineyards are planted on chalky slopes, rather than the arable flatland which covers most of the region.
38
Meunier adds:
Least ABV & moderate Acidity
39
Pinot Gris was name what in 9th-16th C
Fromenteau
40
How are most Rosé made?
Although some Rosé champagne is made by the saignée method, most gets its color from the base wine being a blend of white with some red wine added.
41
What does “Prise de Mousse” refer to?
2nd Fermentation
“Prise de Mousse” literally means to seize the foam and refers to the second fermentation that creates the sparkle in the champagne – which the French call the “mousse”
42
If a champagne producer only vinifies grapes from their own vineyards, which producer code should they show on their label ?
RM: Récoltant-Manipulant
43
What traumatic, historic event reduced the size of the Champagne region to a fifth of its previous size?
Phylloxera
44
Before the Champagne Method was perfected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the wines of Champagne were produced using a less sophisticated process. This is still used in other regions – what is it called?
Ancestral Method
45
List in order of sweetness
Brut Nature
Extra Brut
Brut
Extra Sec/Dry
Sec
Demi-Sec
Doux
46
Champagne producer who buys grapes from others
NM: Négociant-Manipulant
47
A cellar which vinifies grapes for its members
CM: Cooperative-Manipulant
48
Grape owners who jointly vinify and sell to 1 communal brand(s)
SR: Société de Récoltants
49
Grape grower affiliated with winemaking Coop
RC - Réclotant-Cooperateur
50
Private label wines registered by a group or individual
MA - Marque Auxillaire
51
What is “disgorgement"?
Removal of yeast after the 2nd fermentation
52
What is “disgorgement à la volée”?
Disgorgement by hand, as opposed to by machine.
53
What is the climate of the Champagne region?
Continental with maritime influences
54
What is a “mosser”?
A whisk used to release trapped gas from wine.
54
In what year did the King of France allow wine to be sold and transported in bottle?
1728
55
What is the most popular style of Champagne?
Brut Non-Vintage
56
Which city was historically the capital of the Champagne region?
Troyes
56
What is chalk?
A porous limestone – a sedimentary rock composed of calcium carbonate.
57
Which was the first Champagne house?
Ruinart – founded in 1729.
58
How are Champagne vineyards ranked?
It is the village that is ranked and not the individual vineyards.
59
In Champagne, which is the higher ranking, “Grand Cru” or “Premier Cru”?
Grand Cru
60
What are the two types of chalk found in Champagne?
Belemnite and Micraster
61
What is Kimmeridgean Marl?
A limestone-rich clay whose dominant fossil is Exogyra virgula, a small comma-shaped oyster.
62
What is the dominant grape variety grown in the Grande Montagne de Reims?
Pinot Noir
63
What is the dominant grape variety grown in the Vallée de la Marne?
Meunier
64
What is a “Mono-Cru”
A single village
65
What is a “Mono-Parcelle”
A single vineyard
66
What is the dominant fossil found in Belemnite chalk?
Ancient dart-like relatives of the modern-day squid.
66
What is a “Blanc de Blancs”?
A white wine made from white grapes, the term is more commonly used for sparkling wines than still.
66
What is the dominant grape variety of the Côte des Blancs?
Chardonnay
67
What is a gyropalette?
A mechanized riddling machine.
67
List the seven dosage levels from driest to sweetest.
Brut Nature
Extra Brut
Brut
Extra Sec (or Extra Dry)
Sec (Dry)
Demi-Sec
Doux
68
What is the dominant grape variety of the Côte de Sézanne?
Chardonnay
69
What is a “Blanc de Noirs”?
A white wine made from black grapes, the term is more commonly used for sparkling wines than still.
69
What does the abbreviation “RM” refer to on a Champagne label?
Récoltant-Manipulant; a producer who vinifies only their own estate-grown grapes.
70
What are the four authorized (but ancillary) grape varieties of Champagne?
Pinot Gris
Pinot Blanc
Arbane
Petit Meslier
70
What are the three principal grape varieties of Champagne?
Pinot Noir
Meunier
Chardonnay
71
What was the contribution of Veuve Cliquot (Ponsardin) to the champagne method?
The development of the riddling process.
72
Describe Grand Cru
The grapes for “Grand Cru” Champagne are sourced from one, or more, of the 17 Grand Cru villages.
73
What is a “Perpetual Reserve”?
A vat of reserve wine in which multiple vintages of wine are aged together in the same vessel – similar to a solera.
74
What is a “Tête de Cuvée”?
A champagne house’s prestige cuvée.
75
What is the difference between AOC Coteaux Champenois and AOC Champagne?
AOC Coteaux Champenois wines are still, while AOC Champagne wines are sparkling.
76
Which grape variety is the most widely planted in Champagne?
Pinot Noir
76
What are the “crayères”?
Chalk quarries dug by the Romans and now used as cellars for aging Champagne.
77
There is a set blending formula for the Champagne AOC.
True or False?
FALSE.
Every champagne house has its own blend and house style.
78
What does the abbreviation “NM” refer to on a Champagne label?
Négociant-Manipulant; a champagne producer that includes grapes purchased from other growers in their wines.
79
What is “remuage”?
Riddling; the turning and tilting of champagne bottles from horizontal to vertical to collect the lees in the neck.
80
What is the dominant grape variety of the Côte des Bar?
Pinot Noir - 85%
80
What is another term for “liqueur d’expédition”?
Dosage
80
What is “transversage”?
The process of using 750 ml bottles to fill larger or smaller bottles.
81
What is the “prise de mousse”?
“Seizing of the foam”; in champagne production this is the second alcoholic fermentation, which creates the bubbles.
81
What is the “liqueur d’expédition”?
The mix of sugar and still reserve wine added to champagne after dégorgement and before the cork is inserted.
82
What is the primary grape variety of Rosé des Riceys?
Pinot Noir
83
What river flows through Côte des Bar?
Aube River
84
What are the 2 Côte des Bar terroirs?
Barsur-Aubois
Flanks Aube River and Barséquanais
85
How much Chardonnay is produced in Côte des Blancs?
97%
86
What are the terroirs of Vallée de la Marne
6 Total
1. Grand Vallée de la Marne
2. Vallée de la Marne Rive Gauche
3. Vallée de la Marne Rive Droit
4. Ouest
5. Conde
6. Côteaux Sud d'Epernay
87
What are the five terroirs of Côte des Blancs?
1. Côte des Blanc - most famous
2. Val du Petit Morin
3. Côte de Sézanne
4. Vitryat
5. Montguex
88
What are the 2 terroirs of Cóte de Bar
1. Bar sur Aubois
2. Barséquanais
89
90
8 permitted grapes in Champagne
Voltis
Arbane
Petit Meslier
Pinot Gris
Pinot Blanc
Meunier
Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
