The Harvest : the birth of the Champagne wines
The art of pressing in Champagne consists in a gentle handling of the grapes, a slow and progressive pressing process and a division of the must (grape juices) into Cuvée and Taille. The pressing takes place immediately after picking. After the pressing we do an operation called « debourbage ». Once this one is over, the alcoholic fermentation can take place without any problem. During this step, the must turns into wine with the help of selected yeast ferments. From the pressing the cellar workers and the oenologist use their experience to produce exceptionnal Champagnes.
Wine blending in Champagne
During the spring of the following year, the various « crus » (village), the various grapes varieties and the reserved wines are blended together in order to obtain a consistent wine quality from one year to the next year. There is not a single blend but many and each blend is unique. Each winegrower has its own personality.
Bottling
Bottling takes place just after blending. At the bottling time the bottles are filled with the blend, ferments and liquor. We add ferments and liquor at this step in order to trigger the second fermentation. The magic of Champagne borns into the bottle.
Ageing : maturation of Champagne
This vital step enables our Champagnes to open out and the flavours to reach their fullness. For information the non-vintage must be aged a minimum of 15 months and 3 years for a Vintage Champagne.
Riddling and disgorging
To discard the sediment produced by the yeast cells during the second fermentation, the bottle are riddled. The riddling operation is carried out in gyropallets. This process consists in progressively turning and tilting the bottle upside down in order to bring the sediment to the neck of the bottle.
The dosage of your Champagne is performed immediately after disgorging (Brut – Dry – Extra Dry…). As soon as the liquor is added, the bottle is sealed with an oak cork tightly held in position with a muzzle.
Patience and rigour are the two qualities from vinegrower from the Champagne aera. The vineyards must have a constent and a special attention all over the year.
