 The making of champagne has been essentially unchanged
for over 100 years. The wine is fermented twice, once
quickly in bulk and then slowly in the bottle, and it
is this second fermentation in a confined space that
adds the bubbles.
The making of champagne, or methode champenoise, has
evolved over many years. Today's process is roughly unchanged
from that of the late 19th century. There are cheaper
ways of making sparkling wine, but the quality that the
methode champenoise gives cannot be beaten.
Base wines
The grapes are harvested and pressed. The rules of the
Champagne region allow 2,550 litres of juice from each
4,000kg of grapes (the cuvee), plus another 500 litres
known as the taille.
This juice then undergoes its first fermentation. This
is done in bulk, and is short and simple. It produces
a dry, acidic wine with little obvious character. There
is no residual sugar - this would interfere with the
second fermentation if still present.
These wines are stored until needed. A vintage wine will
be made from 100% of a single year's base wines - for
other areas within the EU the rule is only 85%. Non-vintage
wines often contain a mix of wines from several years.
Assemblage
This normally takes place in the first few months of
the year following the harvest. The many base wines produced
are blended to give a wine that, once it has fermented
again, should be greater than the sum of the parts. This
blending is what allows the large houses to produce a
consistent style, by balancing the available base wines.
The Pinot Meunier provides the youngest, most approachable
flavors. Pinot Noir takes over from Pinot Meunier after
a couple of years and the Pinot Meunier fades away. Finally,
Chardonnay wakes up, although Pinot Noir tends to remain
strong and so the two partner each other as the wine
ages.
Reserve wines from other years can be used in non-vintage
champagne. These help give immediate complexity to the
wine, but at the expense of long-term aging potential.
Second Fermentation
A day or two after the assemblage, the liqueur de tirage
is added and the bottles sealed with crown caps for the
second fermentation. This is much slower and occurs at
cooler, cellar temperatures, usually 9 to 11°C. The
rapid, warm first fermentation and the slow, cool second
fermentation help produce the complex wine that is champagne.
This second fermentation usually takes up to three months.
After the fermentation is complete, the wine can be disgorged,
but it is better if left to age on the lees, or dead
yeast cells. The yeast is broken down by enzymes, a process
known as autolysis. This breakdown can take up to ten
years, but usually is complete in four or five.
Degorgement
While the lees are still present, the champagne will
not develop the biscuity, toasty characteristics associated
with aged champagne. These will only develop after degorgement,
when the lees are removed and the dosage is added. The
dosage is, these days, usually just a sugar solution.
This helps set the final sweetness of the champagne:
for sweeter champagnes such as demi-sec, more dosage
is added.
Champagne benefits from being kept for at least three
months after degorgement, to allow the dosage to mix
and develop with the wine. The wine will continue to
evolve in the bottle for much longer than this. One odd
effect is that the longer the wine is left on the lees,
the younger it tastes when first disgorged, but the quicker
it ages in the bottle.
The corks, although mushroom-shaped when removed, are
actually a cylinder when put in. They look just like
an ordinary wine cork, but twice the size. You can see
this if you keep a champagne cork in water for a few
days; it will revert to its original shape.
Article © 2002-2006, The
Champagne Shop. All rights reserved.
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