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Champagne
The champagne (French vin de Champagne) is a sparkling wine, in the wine growing region of Champagne in France to set strict rules and are grown. He is regarded in many parts of the world as the most festive of all beverages. The wine dissolved carbon dioxide created by a second fermentation in the bottle ( "Méthode traditionnelle, Méthode champenoise"). Champagne enjoys the status of an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, even if this is not on the label.
Delineation of champagne
The term "champagne" is protected by trademark. Other sparkling wines must under German food law, depending on the manufacture and the country of origin, referred to as champagne. Through bottle fermentation produced sparkling wines are called in France and Luxembourg Vin Mousseux or Cremant, Spain Cava, Spumante in Italy, Germany winemakers champagne and sparkling wine in Austria Hauer, provided the basic wines from a single vineyard and originate from this, or even a group of producers were manufactured.
Whether the higher price of champagne is always justified, a moot point. Certainly the consumer pays especially for products of the leading manufacturers worldwide marketing. The fact is, though, that champagne to the strictest rules of all manufacturing sparkling wines under whose compliance by independent bodies controlled. These include:
* Strictly defined growing area
* Crop rules as Plantation
* Income limits
* Mandatory palmistry
* Gentle, immediate pressure
* Bottle fermentation
* Minimum storage time on the yeast
* Prohibition of Transvasierverfahrens for bottle sizes between 0375 and 3.0 litre.
Production of champagne
Growing area
The unique soil on which the vines grow champagne is significantly to the quality of the drink. The area in which the grapes for champagne grown to be, was on 22 July 1927. It covers about 34,000 hectares, which are now almost entirely bestockt. Because of its expansion from approximately 150 km, the area is not homogeneous. Not only the microclimates, but also the soil types are different. It is divided into different regions, whose main Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs and Côte des Bar. See details below Champagne (wine region).
Grapes
For champagne are almost exclusively used three grape varieties: The red grape varieties Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) and Pinot Meunier (GV Muller vine or black Riesling) and the white grape Chardonnay. Admitted, but since the Reblauskrise almost disappeared varieties Arbane and Petit Meslier. The mix of varieties determines the character of the champagne. In one part of the Champagne, the Cote des Blancs, preferably pure Chardonnay cuvées manufactured, the Blanc de Blancs. Spätburgunder makes 37% of the vineyards of Champagne, Black Riesling also 37%, and 26% Chardonnay. Pinot Noir is the wine abundance, the finesse Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier its fruitiness. Even the term Blanc de Noirs for white wine from black grapes was originally in the Champagne. Blanc de Noirs champagne are rather rare to find (such as Bollinger, Bruno Paillard, or about Mailly) and come mostly from areas around Aÿ, Bouzy, Mailly, and Verzenay Hautvillers. Later, the term for some still wines in other regions.
Cultivation, harvest and pressing
For the cultivation of Champagnes apply strict quality standards. The Plantation is 7.000-8.000 vines per hectare much denser than in most other wine regions. The yield is in any case to 15,500 kg of grapes per hectare limited, in difficult years, it can be fixed well below. The reading must be done by hand, so that the grapes remain intact. Read in the mannequins, which are baskets or small vessels, in contrast to the German grape Handmade not for the retention of juice are built. The grapes in red wine varieties Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier be pressed quickly, so that almost no red dyes in the basic wine. A Macerated for the extraction of rose Champagnes is the exception, as a rule, in this case the white wine and red added 10-20%.
Since 1983 must be 160 kg Traubengut for the collection of 102 litres must be used until then, it was only 150 kg. But only as a designated Cuvée first 82 litres are really high quality. The rest, still pressed and twice as Première Second waist and called, is less well as by the more pressing bitter substances in the must. Best champagne will therefore only from the Cuvée produced, while the Tailles in the standard mitverwendet qualities. Because of the losses during maturation and the Dégorgieren obtain a total of around 100 litres of champagne, 133 bottles 0.75 l.
Assemblage (assembly)
First, the alcoholic fermentation Most of the wine produced. A part of the producer can then called malolactic fermentation, a biological Säureabbau to. If this process is completed, the basic wine together and filled in bottles, which he then rumbling for a second time. These usually take place between March and May of the following year, instead of reading.
Approximately 80% of all champagne wines are made from ground to various vintages blended cuvées and come without specifying vintage on the market. This assemblage = compilation is an important part of the champagne-making. Up to a hundred different wines can be united for a champagne. The reason of a typical wine jahrgangslosen champagne covers about 70% from the current vintage, and the rest are older vintages, the so-called reserve wines. With the help of the reserve wines, it is possible the champagne houses, each year an equivalent and equal tasting champagne to produce. Today, there are about 20,000 champagne "products".
Champagne: the Drink of the White Wine was inflated
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